Secrets And Lies
by Fate Camiswhil
Summary: She was lying, he was also lying. Actually, they were all lying and keeping secrets from one another. All of them have their own reasons, all of them have their own motives, so how are they gonna work things out if each of them has their own version of the same story? Formerly "Cagalli is a Maid," then, "Sweet Serendipity."
1. The Runaway

Title changed again! From "Cagalli is a maid!" to "Sweet Serendipity" to "Secrets And Lies"...XD

And just so you know, this is already the edited version. Thank you!^^

This is dedicated to you! The person who has nothing better to do with his/her life and is now currently reading this piece of crap I made. Well, if it would make you feel any better, I also do not have a life! Otherwise, I wouldn't have time for kidding!

This is dedicated to all of those who can't seem to grow out of their fantasies, like me! Lolx!

**Disclaimer:** I do not have anything to do with Gundam Seed / Destiny!

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 1: The Runaway**

"What?"

Princess Cagalli jerked up and out of bed when she read the first sentence of the letter.

She immediately ran through the hallways of the palace, in a hurry to get to her father's office, then, "BAM!" she kicked the door open, hurried to her father and slammed her hands on the table, shaking it.

"What the hell is the meaning of this?" she yelled, then she took out a letter from her pocket. It was an invitation to an engagement party, HER engagement party which she absolutely was unaware of, until Flay sent her a copy of it.

Her father stared at her with furrowed eye brows and said: "It is what you think it is…"

Cagalli was devastated, "But why, Father? How could you do this to me?" Cagalli yelled, her voice was starting to shake.

"As you have already known, I will be signing a peace treaty with the Plants in about two weeks." he said with a stern voice. "The ORB Union and the Plants Supreme Council have decided to make this bond stronger than any bonds before. We have decided that we will not let war tear up our world again. And so, we came up with this resolution, having you married with a son of a council member." with that, he stood up and turned his back on her, looking out the balcony.

Cagalli had wide-open eyes, staring up at him, nearly moved to tears. "But Father—" he cut her off, "No buts! This is for the sake of world peace!" he closed his eyes, didn't even look back. Cagalli took a few steps back in disbelief of what's happening, then she clutched her fists and ran away. Lord Uzumi slowly opened his eyes and whispered: "I'm sorry…"

* * *

Kisaka and Erica were standing outside Cagalli's room. "Princess Cagalli has been locked up there in her room for more than five hours straight now." Erica told Kisaka. "I'm starting to get worried, she didn't even eat lunch. This is just too much for a sixteen-year-old princess to handle. Can't we do something? " she asked him.

Kisaka took a deep breath and with that he knocked on the door. No one answered so, he took the liberty of opening the door and going inside, Erica went with him.

Inside, they saw Princess Cagalli lying in her bed, face furrowed in her pillow. Erica went to sit beside her. Kisaka stayed standing there. Erica started stroking her head and her long golden silky hair. "Don't worry Princess, I'm sure everything will work out in the end." Erica said softly, trying to cheer up the fallen princess. Cagalli didn't react, she didn't even move.

Erica leaned over to look at her face. "I think she's cried herself to sleep. Poor Princess." she said with a sad expression on her face. Kisaka went closer and said: "She's bound to do it. We all know something like this would push through eventually. I'm sure that even she's figured out by now that she had it coming. She's a Princess after all; things like these are normally planned out even before she was born, it's something that comes along with her stature." Kisaka was concerned but he knows there is absolutely nothing he can do.

Erica nodded her head in agreement, stood up with Kisaka and they both bowed their heads before exiting the room. After closing the door, Cagalli's eyes opened, she was wide awake all along.

* * *

Cagalli skipped dinner that night, leaving her father to have lunch and dinner all by himself that entire day. Cagalli was in her balcony, staring up at the night sky when her phone rang. She didn't feel like talking to anyone that time but she decided to take a look on who it was anyway. It was Flay, daughter of a Vice Foreign Minister, because of her father's connection to the ORB Union, she has become a familiar face and to some extent a friend of Cagalli.

"What the hell do you want Flay? I'm busy!" Cagalli answered with an irritated tone.

"Busy? Doing what? Starving yourself to death?" Flay said with a sarcastic tone.

"How the hell did you know that?" Cagalli asked annoyed.

"Duh? The writer told me—I mean, what else could a helpless princess like you possibly do in situations like this?" she answered.

"Go to hell!" Cagalli was starting to get really pissed.

Flay laughed; "Anyway, I just wanted to congratulate you on this new realization."

"What realization?" Cagalli asked curiously.

"You know, that fairy tales don't exist in the real world and no matter how long you stare up at the sky from your balcony, stars won't send a knight in shining armor to come save you!" Flay giggled.

Cagalli gasped; "How dare you? Aren't you suppose to be my friend in this story?"

"Oh yeah, right. So, what are you planning?" she asked.

Cagalli sighed, "I'm not really sure, what do you have in mind?"

"Ever tried running away?" Flay's eyes narrowed.

"Runaway? That's crazy!" she couldn't believe her friend's suggestion.

"This world is crazy." Flay said, trying to get her to do so.

"But still, I can't just abandon everything, the engagement is for the sake of the world!" she tried to fight of temptation.

"What about your sake?" Flay was like a little devil on Cagalli's shoulders. "In the end, you have to do what you want Cagalli, it's your life."

"But—" she didn't really know what to say.

Flay cut her off, "Think about it, you can just blame your father, after all, it's his idea."

"Well…" Cagalli was losing the argument.

"If he really wants world peace, why can't he get married himself?" Flay seemed irritated, she almost yelled.

"But even if that's true, it would be awkward for father to…" Cagalli tried to change the topic.

"If you follow your heart, I'm sure you won't regret it. Besides, don't you want to give him the guilt trip? He put you through so much." Flay coached her.

"Uhmm, you're right." Cagalli's eyes narrowed and she lost it.

"But remember, you gotta be ready for the consequences." She teased.

"Consequences… I don't think anything could be worst than this." Cagalli assured herself.

"That's the spirit!" Flay cheered.

"By the way, Flay, How did you know about the engagement?"

"You'll be surprised; I actually went through the same thing." she giggled.

"You got engaged too?" she was surprised.

"I can't help wondering how you didn't know, considering you were invited then." Flay's eye brow twitched.

"Oh, really…? Well, gotta go, bye!" Cagalli hurriedly hung up.

After hanging up, Cagalli put her thoughts together. _"If I runaway, I don't need to get engaged, father would feel guilty, people would be looking for me and if ever I make it out alive, I'll be normal… On the other hand, if I go missing, it would probably affect the treaty-signing-but that's their fault! I don't need to bear the guilt, father does!"_

Cagalli took a few deep sighs and then, she decided: "Oh, what the hell? Just do it Cagalli! No one has the right to blame you for this anyway!" she yelled at herself.

She then went to pack her necessities, some clothes and cash. After that, she changed clothes. She wore a red shirt, a black jacket over it, dark green pants, a pair of sneakers and a cap wherein she tucked in all of her hair, she also decided to put on sunglasses to finish her look, she can't be recognized nor caught. And she has to escape now or spent another day of complete starvation. So, she went out to her balcony and jumped off.

* * *

After Cagalli hanged up on her, Flay decided to make another call. This time to the heir of the throne, Prince Kira.

"Hello, who is it?" Kira answered his phone half asleep.

"Hey, Kira guess who I am." Flay answered sweetly.

"Look, whoever you are, can you just bug me again later, like when the sun's up... I'm still sleeping…" Kira slowly said while still lying in his bed.

"Kira, how could you still lie in bed when the 'only hope for peace' just made a run for it?" Flay was trying to give him a hint.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Kira was starting to come to his senses and decided to sit up and take a look on his watch. After seeing that is was only half pass one, he got annoyed. He then, looked at the caller I.D. to see who the caller was and he almost exploded when he found out that it was just Flay. "Flay! Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Yes, it's only 1:30." Flay replied with a giggle.

"Yes, Flay. It is only 1:30…in the morning!" he shouted.

Flay gave out a superficial gasp; "How could you yell at me like that?"

"Look, I'm sorry, but right now my brain isn't fully functional yet to have a fun chat with you so please, if you don't have anything important to say, leave me and my pillow alone!" Kira was irritated already.

"Okay, okay. I'll leave you alone with your pillow now, but just so you can have a peaceful slumber, I want you to know that your Princess has been taken away by kidnappers." Flay joked.

"Eh?" Kira was still thinking.

"Good night!" Flay quickly hung up.

"You're kidding right?" Kira still had his phone in his ear. Then, thanks to the beeping sound, he realized that the line was already dead. He put the phone down and waited until what Flay said sank to him.

"Oh my God! Cagalli's been kidnapped!" he got the wrong message though.

* * *

The next morning, Cagalli was already in the Plants. She took the last flight thinking that the Plants would be the most unlikely place for her father to look for her. When she got there the first thing she did was...eat.

She went to a fairly-looking café, when she got in she saw that there were so many customers on that café, so she decided to look for another place but before she could exit, she bumped into a beautiful lady with short blue hair. She quickly apologized; the lady said that it was all right and even asked her to join her, Cagalli was surprised but still decided to accept the lady's offer.

"So, what's your name?" the lady asked politely.

'_You can't tell her your real name, Cagalli!'_she screamed in her mind, her eyes were moving from one place to another, as if trying to find something that would give her an idea of a false name, then she saw a vase filled with calla lilies on the counter. "Uhmm… My name is Calla. You are?" she said trying to hide her anxiousness.

"That's such a beautiful name, I'm Lenore." She said smiling.

"Uhmm, thank you Miss Lenore." she replied. Then, she thought; _"Lenore… where have I heard that name before?"_

"So, what brings you to the Plants?" Lenore asked.

"Uhmm, what?" Cagalli was startled.

"Based on your luggage, I'm guessing you just got here." She said.

"Ahh, well… yes. Actually, I arrived just a few minutes ago." she was hesitating but she thought it wouldn't hurt to admit it.

"Are you a tourist? Or do you have some business here?" she asked although she didn't seem curious at all.

"Well, the truth is… I plan to stay here for good and to find some work." Cagalli answered looking determined.

"I see. Do you have a place to stay in already?" the lady was full of questions.

"Uhmm, well, I haven't looked around yet." Cagalli felt a little doubt.

"Would you like to stay in at my house then?" Lenore offered.

"What?" Cagalli was surprised again, to think that they we're strangers to each other.

"We're actually in need of some helpers, the work isn't that heavy I'm sure you'll manage and we can provide a place for you to stay in." she explained.

"Uhmm, well, thank you but…" she was still hesitating.

"I'm quite fond of you, even though this is our first meeting." Lenore assured her.

"Well… All right then, I accept your offer. Thank you so much." she bowed. Cagalli was uncertain about this but then she thought: _"What could possibly go wrong? right?"_

After their meals, Cagalli went with Lenore, hiding herself under the name, Calla.

_Flashback:_

_Flay was talking in the phone: "That's right, Princess Cagalli will be arriving there at about eight in the morning, please take care of her, Miss Lenore. Thank you so much."_

* * *

Meanwhile, Kira arrived early in the morning at the Athha mansion. He went straight to Cagalli's room and when he got there, he confirmed that Cagalli was missing. It was only when Kira arrived did the people there notice that the princess was no longer there. Kira then went to his father to inform him about Cagalli's disappearance.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Just so you know, I like Flay and I think her character can play that role best. She met Lenore at her engagement party. Lenore was there in place of Patrick.

In this fic, Cagalli has long hair almost like Lacus' hair; Flay always wears black and I only added the flashback scene of Flay telling Lenore about Cagalli to stress the fact that Cagalli bumping into Lenore was not an accident.

Please Review! it's the only way I know how many people have read this. Also, I don't want to end up dropping this so please help me make it better. I'm open to comments, questions, suggestions, anything as long as you review it.

No flames, please respect that this is my fic. Thank you!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


	2. One Step Closer

Here's chapter 2 guys! Thanks for the reviews!

Flay will be good and bad, much like Yzak but I won't pair them up. Cagalli will manage and mess up.

I will not drop this or else I'll die! Lolx…!

Please bear with me and please review. Thanks again!

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 2: One Step Closer**

Kira was pacing the floor, redialing Flay's number in his phone, over and over again but he just couldn't get through.

"Where the hell is she when you need her? Damn it!" he yelled at the phone.

"Earlier she had the time to wake me up in the middle of the night just to irritate me and now I can't even contact her! She's really done it this time! Just wait 'till I get my hands on you!" he was gritting his teeth. Then, he thought about calling their other friends and dialed Sai's number.

"Hello, Sai?" he said as someone picked it up.

"Hey, Kira. What's up?" Sai answered.

"Uhmm, hey Sai… Listen, do you by any chance, happen to know where Flay is? I can't contact her." Kira said calmly.

"Well… Not really… No. What makes you think I do?" he asked in a curious tone.

"Oh, nothing really…" Kira hesitated.

"Is there something wrong? Did she cause some trouble again?" he sounded worried.

"Well… No… I don't know yet. See you later, bye!" he hurriedly hung up.

Kira was about to give up when he suddenly got a call.

"Hello, Flay!" he was eager.

"Uhmm, no, it's Mir, Kira." she answered.

"Oh, hello, Mir. Is there anything I could help you with?" he sounded disappointed.

"Well, I just wanted to ask if the rumors were true?" she said.

"What rumors?" he got curious.

"You know… that Cagalli's been kidnapped…" she continued.

"You know about that?" Kira was starting to get a bad feeling.

"Yeah, news is spreading like a virus here in HQ." she explained.

"Damn those nosy butlers."He murmured. "We can't let this get out."

"So, it is true…" she said.

"Yeah… so, do you happen to know where Flay is?" he tried.

"Flay? Well, actually I'm meeting her up in the airport." she said.

"Really? That's great! Wait… Why the airport?" he was curious.

"Well, she invited me and Stella to have a vacation somewhere in Eurasia." she explained.

"What? A vacation?" he was surprised. Then he said. "Hey Mir, could you call me again once you get to your destination? Please…! This is really important."

"Okay, no problem! I'll call you." she assured him.

"Thanks a lot… and please… don't tell Flay." He had a stern voice as if threatening her.

"O-kay, bye." Mir was disturbed but didn't mind it.

After hanging up, Kira gave out a big sigh then he thought: "What in the world is she up to?"

* * *

Cagalli was sitting at the back of the car beside Miss Lenore. Her eyes were fixed outside the window, staring at the streets, houses and buildings. She thought of how similar the Plants was to ORB. Almost everything was the same then, they entered an estate.

There was quite a long drive on the way to the main mansion. The place was surprisingly huge as there were trees everywhere. Cagalli thought that it was a bit awkward for them to have a place as big as that. She thought that the Plants wouldn't want to waste much space for infrastructures because it was located in the middle of outerspace. She wanted to inquire about it but she decided to keep quiet, considering the fact that she'll be staying there as a servant.

When they got there, Cagalli followed Miss Lenore out of the car. She gazed at how big the mansion, it was also very beautiful and well-made. Then she wondered about what kind of people lived there, how wealthy they were for having a house like that and how she'll live as a servant in a house like that. She was lost in her thoughts for a moment until Miss Lenore called for her attention.

"Miss Calla, please come over here." she called.

Cagalli hurried towards her and said, "Please don't call me 'Miss Calla', Miss Lenore. I will only be here as a servant and nothing more." she explained.

"Oh, that's right. I will no longer call you 'Miss' if you'll do the same with me. To call me Lenore is fine." she said calmly with her eyes softening on Cagalli.

"But Miss Lenore, how do you expect me to do that when you're the owner of the house?" Cagalli exclaimed.

"That's right again; I am the owner of the house… So, could you please stop arguing with me?" she asked in an amused tone.

Cagalli blinked twice before answering, "Yes Ma'am, I'm sorry." then she looked down.

Her reaction only made Lenore more amused and fond of her. Then, the main door of the mansion opened and as they made their way inside, they were greeted by a man in a black and white suit, and a fat lady in a maid uniform of the same color.

"Arthur, Myrna, this is Calla. She will be staying with us from now on. She is a new maid." Then, Lenore faced Cagalli and said, "This man is Arthur, the head butler and she is Myrna, the head maid." Cagalli bowed her head in response, which surprised Lenore for it seemed so natural to Cagalli to bow like that even when she was only introduced to mere servants. Lenore was very pleased and delighted. She never expected for the young princess to act so humble and courteous. Of course, she didn't think of her to be spoiled either.

"Myrna, take Calla to her room. She must be exhausted." Lenore told the maid. Then she turned to Cagalli, "I understand that you just got here so, you may rest for the entire day but tomorrow, you will have to start working as the new maid, is that all right?" she asked her.

"Yes, I understand completely. Thank you very much!" Cagalli replied and she looked very determined, it made Lenore smile.

* * *

Athrun was sitting in a lounge of Zaft HQ while drinking coffee by himself when Shinn suddenly barged in and surprised him.

"ATHRUN!" Shinn was yelling at the top of his lungs.

Athrun turned to him and gave him a weird look before saying: "What the hell is wrong with you, Shinn?"

Shinn quickly ran to his side and shouted: "WE'RE GONNA HAVE A VACATION!"

Athrun blinked twice before reacting: "What?"

Later, the entire top elite team was summoned to Le Creuset's office. The Team consists of five members: Athrun Zala, Nicol Amalfi, Dearka Elsman, Yzak Joule and Shinn Asuka.

Le Creuset was standing while looking out the window when they entered. They saluted in line but Le Creuset didn't even turn back. It was quiet then he finally started speaking: "I've got some good news… and some bad news. Which do you want to hear first?" Then he turned back to look at them.

Shinn raised his arm and said: "The good news, Sir."

Le Creuset smiled and continued: "The good news is… you boys will get out of this place for two weeks…"

They all looked at each other then, Shinn and Dearka held their fists with a "Yes!"

"…the bad news is, you boys have to come with me as bodyguards." He finished with a grin.

The huge smile from the lips of Shinn and Dearka became smaller.

Then Nicol asked; "If we are going with you as your bodyguards then, where would we be going for two weeks?"

With a huge smirk on his face, he explained: "I'm not really sure as to where we would be going but no, you boys won't be my bodyguards this time rather, you would be bodyguards of someone else."

"What? Of whom?" Shinn asked.

This time Le Creuset's smile grew even bigger as he answered: "My niece."

They all looked at each other. Yzak raised an eye brow.

"He has a niece?" said Shinn.

"Yes, I do, and you will all get to meet her and be her bodyguards as soon as she arrives." He explained.

"I see, so, will she be here for some important business?" Athrun asked.

"Well, not really… she actually just decided to come here on a whim…" He said with a smile.

They gave out a weird look.

"But don't worry; I'm sure you boys will have a lot of fun with her." he turned his back on them again.

"Pardon me Commander, but that doesn't sound like a valid mission to me." said Athrun.

"It's not… but I just can't rest knowing that my niece is touring around the Plants by herself and I have already received permission from Commissioner Durandal regarding this matter so all is well." he explained.

"So… what's her name?" Dearka asked.

"Her name is Flay Allster." he said proudly.

Nicol suddenly got the feeling that the name was somehow familiar and wondered about it, putting his hand under his chin. Le Creuset noticed his reaction.

"Is there something bothering you, Nicol?" he asked.

"Uhmm, well… I think I've heard that name somewhere before." He said with a sigh since he couldn't point his finger on the answer.

The other guys looked at him with curiosity.

"Yes, well, I'm sure you've heard of her… after all, she is your fiancée, right?" he said plainly.

All of them were just blinking when the message finally hit their brains.

"WHAATT?" They all reacted the same way.

* * *

After unpacking her luggage, Cagalli was summoned to the kitchen. When she got there, she was introduced to the other servants. The servants were in line when she came. Cagalli then, stood beside Myrna, in front of the others.

"Starting from left to right, please introduce yourselves." Myrna said.

"My name is Luna Maria Hawke." said the girl with short red-violet hair.

"I'm Meyrin Hawke, her little sister. Nice to meet you!" said the pig-tailed redhead.

"Shiho Hahnenfuss." Said the girl with long brown hair.

"Auel Neider. What's up?" said the guy with light blue hair.

"Sting Oakley. The two of us are footmen here." said the guy with green hair.

"Kojiro Murdoch. I'm the gardener." The big man said with a chuckle.

"And I'm the head maid and cook here." Myrna said. "Now, it's your turn Calla."

Cagalli took a step forward and bowed before saying, "My name is Calla Hibiki. It's a pleasure to meet all of you." she then, smiled broadly. "It's a good thing I had enough time to think of a surname before the introductions." She thought to herself.

"All right everyone; she will be with us as the new maid from now on… Be nice to her… and I mean you Auel! No pranks!" Myrna said as she eyed Auel.

Meyrin suddenly walked up to her and said, "Now that you'll be with us, you should know that maids can't wear caps… it's like a rule here." She pointed to the cap that Cagalli was wearing.

"Oh, all right. I'll take it off then." Thinking that no one could possibly recognize her, she confidently took off her cap. And they were all stunned by how beautiful she was with her long golden hair.

"Wow! I think I'm in love!" Auel shouted which earned him a hard slap from Meyrin.

Luna approached her and said, "You're so beautiful, you look like a doll."

"I know, let's give her the nick-name, Dolly! It suits her." Meyrin added.

Rubbing his cheeks, Auel said: "Girls, come on! She looks more like a Goddess than a doll."

"Shut up!" Luna and Meyrin yelled at him.

Shiho then squeezed herself to get through the sisters and handed Cagalli her uniform. "As a maid, were obliged to wear this uniform. Hope you get used to it… and to them." She smiled.

"Thanks, don't worry, I'll do my best." Cagalli assured her.

Then a cat suddenly entered the room. "That's Mimi. Our cat."

"Can I touch it?" she asked.

"Of course, since he'll be your pet from now on too." Shiho answered.

Cagalli took the cat in her arms, "He's so cute!"

"Yeah, you too!" Auel said smiling at her which earned him a death glare from Meyrin.

"This is just great! We should eat all together tonight, to celebrate the newcomer!" Kojiro suggested while putting his hand at Sting's shoulders. Myrna nodded in agreement.

Looking at all of them, Cagalli thought: "Looks like staying here won't be so bad after all."

* * *

Kira was in the balcony of his room, giving out big and deep sighs. He was pondering on his father's reaction about Cagalli's disappearance.

_Flashback:_

_Kira slammed his hands on the table of his father and shouted; "Father! Why haven't you sent out search parties yet? Cagalli might actually be in grave danger as we speak!"_

_His father just closed his eyes and turned his back on Kira._

_End of Flashback._

Kira let out another deep sigh and said to himself: "Well, if he's not gonna look for her… Maybe I should… Cagalli, where the hell are you?" then, he sighed again.

Meanwhile, in his father's office. Uzumi was thinking about Cagalli as well. He remembered the call he received earlier this morning. An hour before Kira barged into his office.

_Flashback:_

_"Yes, she's here already and she'll be with me for the time being. I assure you that I will take good care of her so you absolutely do not have anything to worry about. All right?"_

_"I'll leave her in your care and thank you for all of this." He replied._

_"It's nothing; I'll see you again at the treaty-signing, about two weeks from now. Take care and goodbye, Lord Uzumi. Have a nice day."_

_"Yes, you too, Lenore. I'll see you then." He put the phone down and sighed in relief._

* * *

Athrun drove the car inside the estate and then he parked it at a corner. With a deep sigh, he got out of the car and took his briefcase with him. While walking towards the main door he remembered the little conversation he had with his teammates after Le Creuset's announcement.

_Flashback:_

_"Nicol! Why didn't you even mention to us that you got engaged… with Commander's niece?" Shinn was all over his face._

_"Yeah, you could've at least given us the heads up." Dearka added._

_"Well… as much as I would've wanted to tell you guys about that, I, myself didn't know I got engaged to his niece." Nicol explained._

_"You didn't know?" Athrun asked._

_"That's impossible! What kind of an idiot are you?" Yzak commented._

_"Guys! I didn't even attend that engagement. Remember? I volunteered to do a lot of extra work for two whole days just to get an excuse from going there… I thought they'd cancel it because of that." he reasoned._

_"Well, I think I do remember something like that…" Shinn said._

_"But what if she's pretty? You just ruined a perfect chance to give out a good first impression." Dearka teased._

_"Whatever! I don't want to talk about it! It's not even important." he said then he turned his head._

_"I guess…" Shinn murmured._

_"Yeah, what's important is that because of her, we have a day-off for today." Dearka chuckled._

_Athrun approached Nicol and asked: "Are you sure?"_

_"Yes, I'm sure." he refused to look at Athrun._

_End of Flashback._

Athrun sighed again and told himself: "What a day? Well, at least I can relax for the rest of the day."

He went to the main door under the big balcony when he suddenly heard a loud crash above him. He decided to take a few steps back to look up at the balcony when Mimi, the cat, jumped off and landed on his right shoulder. He managed to keep his balance and noticed that Mimi was carrying a piece of meat in its mouth before it ran off. Then he heard someone yelling.

"Wait…!" Cagalli jumped off the balcony too, chasing after the cat.

Athrun was so surprised at the girl, he didn't move from where he was standing. Suddenly, the girl's right foot hit his face. Cagalli used Athrun's face as a stepping stone!

Afterwards, Cagalli continued chasing the cat, completely ignoring the fact that she just stepped on Athrun's face.

"Get back here, you stupid cat!" She yelled.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I know that the story has a slow development but please understand that I need that to give an impact at the right time.

Patrick Zala is the Head Chairman of the Plants while Gilbert Durandal is the Commissioner of Zaft.

At first, I wasn't so sure about the pairing of Nicol and Flay but I got the courage to do it because Vani Jane and Mimi the pink kitty paired them up too.

Please Review! It's the only way I know how many people have read this. Help me make it better. I'm open to comments, questions, suggestions, anything as long as you review it.

No flames, please respect that this is my fic. Thank you!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


	3. Fake Names and Identities

Here's chapter 3 guys! Thanks for the reviews!

xXhelenahillXx: Thanks for that well-rounded critique, kababayan! I did my best to make this fic easily readable and understandable. I'm happy that you appreciated it.

Dedication: Lacus Yamato, Eternal destiny dreamer and xXhelenahillXx.

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to the three of you because you guys are the first three who put my story in your favorites, yes, I actually had the time to check that out.

Also, I'd like to remind you guys that there is no such thing as OOC when you're reading/writing a fanfic, okay? Come on, that's why it's called a fanfic in the first place.

Read on with open minds people. Thank you!

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 3: Fake Names and Identities**

"YOU DID WHAT?" Luna, Meyrin and Shiho were all in her face, so shocked at the news that Cagalli stepped on Athrun's face.

Auel was laughing his head off as he was clinging onto Sting's arm, "Sting—haha—help—me! I can't—haha—stop laughing! Hahaha… Oh! My ribs!"

"I can't believe you stepped on Master Athrun's face…" Luna said trying not to laugh.

"Master…? You mean that guy with blue hair?" Cagalli asked.

"Yup! He's our master all right… he is, after all the only son of Lady Lenore and Chairman Zala." Meyrin explained.

"He's the son of Miss Lenore…? …and Chairman Zala…? Crap…" Cagalli got nervous.

"And you did that on your first day too! Haha! You're crazy!" Auel added.

"But I didn't even know he was there when I jumped." Cagalli said with a sad face.

"Well, I understand that Mimi stole some meat but you didn't have to chase him like that… to think that you even jumped from the balcony…" Shiho said.

"Sorry, I acted out of pure impulse." Cagalli reasoned.

"That's okay! They can't possibly fire you when you haven't even started working yet. And besides, you're too cute to be fired." Auel said with a big smile.

"Don't worry! I'm sure Lady Lenore would understand. She seems to like you a lot." Meyrin assured her.

Cagalli can only give out a deep sigh in reply.

Meanwhile, at Athrun's room…

Athrun was groaning in front of the mirror, rubbing his nose and cheeks which had a big red mark the shape of a shoe.

"Good thing she wasn't wearing heels…" he said to himself with a chuckle. For some reason, he wasn't mad at all… rather, he was amused. "What the hell is wrong with this story…?"

That was the first time he had ever encountered a girl as reckless as that to just jump off a balcony. He also thought that what happened was such a funny scene.

"After all the things I went through in the war… I guess I have enough patience to just let this pass… it's not like I could've died there, right?" he said to himself. "…but seriously… who the hell was that girl anyway?"

Then he heard a knock from the door. It was his mother, Lenore.

"Athrun dear, good evening, may I come in?" she asked.

"Come in mom, it's open." He answered.

Lenore went in and sat on his bed. "Are you all right? I heard about what happened."

"I'm fine mom… except for this big red shoe-shaped mark on my face…" he sighed.

Lenore giggled and stopped herself from laughing, "I'm sorry, I just thought it was funny."

"It was… I actually can't believe I'm not angry." He then sat beside her. "So… who was that girl? This is the first time I've seen her."

"Her name is Calla Hibiki. She's the new maid. She's a pretty cute girl, don't you think?" Lenore had a scheming smile.

"Uhmm, I guess… I didn't really see a clear view of her face, considering the fact that her foot was in my face." Athrun tried to change the topic because he knows how pushy his mom could be when it comes to him and girls.

"She'll start working tomorrow. I'm sure you'll see her face clearly from then on." Lenore said in such a fine tone that Athrun wondered why she seemed to like her so much.

"You really like this one, don't you?" he was getting curious.

"Yes. And I'm sorry but I don't think I can get myself to punish her for that, but I will tell her to be more careful." she said straightforwardly.

"That's okay, it's nothing." He assured her.

* * *

In the Amalfi residence, Nicol was having dinner with his parents.

"So, how's your work, Nicol?" Yuri, Nicol's father asked him.

"Very well, dad. Tomorrow we'll be bodyguards." He answered honestly.

"Really? That sounds exciting. May I ask of whom?" Romina, his mother asked in great interest.

Nicol hesitated at first but he didn't want to lie to his parents, he also thought they have the right to know, "Well, we'll be the bodyguards of Commander's niece, Flay Allster." He paid close attention to the reaction his parents may give.

"She's coming here? And you'll be her bodyguard? That's great, you two can get to know each other in the meantime." His mother was so enthusiastic.

"I agree, you have to make it up to her for not attending your engagement." His father added.

"You've met her already right, dad, mom?" he asked.

"Well, yes and she's a pretty fine young lady." His father answered.

"I actually had a long chat with her during the party. She's nice but you should be warned, never make her angry or you'll regret it for sure." His mother said with a scary look on her face which made Nicol a bit nervous on meeting her.

"I'll keep that in mind." Nicol was starting to get a bad feeling.

* * *

The next day, at the Zala estate. Cagalli was already preparing for her first working day. She put on her maid uniform and was pondering on how she would fix her hair when suddenly Meyrin entered her room.

"Oh, good! You haven't tied your hair yet." She seemed excited, then Luna and Shiho came in after her.

"Don't you know it's rude not to knock?" she asked in a surprise.

"Sorry about that, I was excited!" she said.

"Excited? For what?" Cagalli asked in curiosity.

"This is your first day, so you have to look your best!" Shiho said.

"Yes! Plus Master Athrun is still here, so you'll finally meet him formally!" Meyrin was practically in her face again.

"Actually, I don't think I wanna meet him… not after what happened yesterday. That was so embarrassing!" she said then she looked down.

"Non-sense! You have to meet him today! He's so handsome you know!" Meyrin exclaimed.

"Handsome…? You mean… that face that I stepped on?" Cagalli felt so bad.

"Forget about that already! Master Athrun is really patient and understanding you know!" Luna explained. "I'm sure he's not mad at you!"

"But—" Cagalli tried.

Meyrin cut her off. "No buts! Now, let's fix your hair." She said with narrowed eyes and a smirk on her face, looking scary.

Luna and Shiho tied Cagalli in a chair because she refused to have her hair tied in pigtails. However, Meyrin was very persistent. (Duh! Who doesn't wanna see Cagalli in pigtails? Could you imagine that? Imagine that.)

She didn't care if Cagalli was squirming and almost screaming in protest. She didn't even care if Cagalli would kill her afterwards. In the end, Cagalli went out of the room with her hair in pigtails. Her face was completely red because of embarrassment. She hated it but somehow she was happy about the warm and friendly acceptance they were showing her. Then again, she can't believe her hair was in pigtails. "Dear Lord, Kill me now…" she muttered to herself.

Suddenly, Meyrin jumped at her back and put her hands around Cagalli's neck and shoulders. "Calla, you're even cuter now! You should always have your hair like that!" Meyrin was so happy that Calla had her hairstyle.

"Yeah! I'm sure Master Athrun will fall in love at first sight when he sees you." said Luna.

"Uhmm, at first sight...? you mean my foot?" she joked.

"Calla!" they yelled at her.

she sighed, "girls… I appreciate everything that you're all doing for me but I never said that I had any interest for Master Athrun to look at me any different from you." Cagalli explained. She didn't want another set-up to take place after running away from her own engagement.

"Don't worry, that opinion of yours will change instantly at the mere sight of him later." Meyrin added.

Cagalli sighed, "whatever…"

Then, they were called to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for Lenore and Athrun. Cagalli helped out in setting the table. Since she grew up as a princess, Cagalli was quite knowledgeable about the formal setting of the table.

She even took the liberty to pick some fresh flowers from the garden and put them in a plain transparent vase which had a very simple yet elegant feel. Myrna was pleased with her work. However, Cagalli didn't want to stay there to serve breakfast. She was too embarrassed of what she did to even face Lenore and of course, Athrun.

Cagalli decided to hide herself in the yard. She took the cat with her to keep her company and played in the garden. Everyone was so nice to her she thought. They weren't even giving her any kind of reason to regret running away from home. Of course, it's not like they knew, she said to herself.

While walking around, she saw a little fishpond. She went to it to look at the fishes and instinctively, Mimi tried to touch the water with her paws, in an attempt to catch some fish. Cagalli thought it would be fun to punish the naughty cat for its dirty deed last time. So she decided to hold the cat just above the water to tease it.

Cagalli had too much fun dipping the cat's tail in the water that she didn't notice Athrun was watching her. He was on his way to have breakfast inside when he saw Cagalli wondering in the garden. He decided to follow her and watch her from a distance.

"So, that's Calla..." He murmured to himself.

Athrun studied her every move, how she talked to the cat, how she giggled, how her eyes sparkle. She was so pure and innocent, she's like an angel. There was something about her that he didn't see in other girls. Athrun got lost in his deep thoughts of her, that he didn't even notice he was already blushing. He was stunned, he couldn't move, he was just standing there.

Suddenly, there was a change in Cagalli's angelic aura. The cat bit her and she was mad. Cagalli decided to throw Mimi into the water then, she raised the cat. "How dare you bite me, you stupid cat!" Athrun was alarmed, he ran over to prevent her from throwing the cat into the pond. But Cagalli, in rage mode, didn't listen to him at all. Athrun managed to snatch away Mimi and when he did, Cagalli pushed him into the water along with the cat.

After a few moments, Cagalli realized what she had done and she was so embarrassed. Her face turned red in an instant. "I am so sorry, Master Athrun!" she yelled.

* * *

Lacus was having tea in the garden by herself. The place was really beautiful; it had a lot of roses and other flowers everywhere. There were many trees and birds in it. Although the place was like paradise in perfection, it seems as if something was missing. Lacus sipped her tea as she watched the birds flying around, playing with each other. She then thought of what her father had said to her not so long ago.

Flashback:

"Look, I'm sorry Lacus. But I cannot assure the outcome of these arrangements." Siegel, her father tried to explain. "As you have already been aware of children of Council and Union members are being paired up one by one…"

End of Flashback.

Lacus sighed, "I understand that it probably can't be helped… but please try your best to spare me, father. This whole set-up might be convenient but it just doesn't feel right."

* * *

"What's wrong Athrun? You don't look so good." Shinn said as Athrun entered the lounge.

"I don't want to talk about it." he said then he sneezed. Yzak and Dearka just stared at him.

"Athrun, your face is red; do you have a fever or something?" Nicol asked in a concerned tone.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." he replied.

Le Creuset entered and they saluted. He stood in front of them and said, "Her shuttle just arrived. It's time."

Athrun looked at Nicol who was obviously nervous. He put his hand in Nicol's shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I'm sure everything will be fine." Nicol smiled at him in reply.

Then, Le Creuset called him and said, "Listen up Nicol, I want you to meet my niece and get to know her without any formalities, so think of a name. You will introduce yourself to her as a different person." he smirked.

They were all surprised.

"The rest of you boys, play along." he added.

"But wouldn't that be bad?" Nicol was worried.

"Don't worry, I'll take the blame for it afterwards." then he turned to his back and they went on.

They waited in the lobby for the passengers. All of them, except for Le Creuset, were scanning every person they see. Then a girl's voice suddenly called Le Creuset.

"Uncle Rau!" a girl dressed in black yelled as she ran to Le Creuset's arms and they hugged. "I missed you so much!" then she kissed him on the cheeks.

"I missed you too." Le Creuset replied.

Again, they were all surprised. Who knew that their terror Commander could be so close to his niece? Then, a camera flashed. Mir took a picture of the two and they turned to her.

"Uncle Rau, these are my friends. Mir and Stella." Flay said with a giggle.

"I see, it's a pleasure to meet the two of you and thank you for looking after my niece." Le Creuset said.

"It's nice to meet you too!" Mir and Stella said in unison then they bowed.

"How polite, that's nice. By the way, I'd like to introduce to you girls my team which would serve as your bodyguards for your entire stay here." They turned to the direction where Le Creuset's hand was pointing. "Boys, introduce yourselves."

From left to right.

"Athrun Zala." said the boy with blue hair.

"Shinn Asuka." said the boy with black hair.

"Yzak Joule." said the boy with silver hair.

"Dearka Elsman." said the blondie.

Finally, it was Nicol's turn. Le Creuset nodded at him before he spoke.

"Nick Swaile." after saying that, Nicol noticed Flay's eye brow twitched which caused a sweat to roll from his forehead.

Flay turned to Le Creuset and said, "Uncle, What's the meaning of this?" Flay's mood shifted.

Le Creuset forced a smile. "Like What I said earlier, they're your bodyguards—"

Flay Cut him off, "I don't need bodyguards! They're such a bother!" she shouted with irritated voice.

"Flay, please. I assure you they won't interfere with anything that you want to do." Le Creuset tried to reason.

"Still! I don't want any of them around! Gil said I can do anything I want and I don't want them!" she was starting to cause a commotion.

"All right, let's just talk about this when we get home." Le Creuset pleaded.

"No! I want them out of my sight, now!" she almost screamed.

The boys were all shocked and Nicol's fears only got worse.

"Flay, I will not let you go around town without protection, remember the 'stalker' incident?" he said with a stern voice, trying to fight back.

"I already am protected! I have a gun now, you know!" Flay continued to protest.

"Who said you can hold a gun?" He got curious at her sudden confession.

"My father gave it to me, then I got tutorials, passed tests and got my license!" she stood her ground.

Looking at her, Le Creuset sighed in defeat. The boys were even more shocked now and Nicol was starting to regret not protesting about the engagement. But before things got out of hand, Mir decided to pacify her friend.

Putting her hand on Flay's shoulders, she said: "Flay, we're all tired. Let it go for today, it's not worth the effort."

With that, Flay calmed down a bit, faced her uncle and said, "You're all gonna regret this." her eyes narrowed.

Dearka then, whispered to Nicol. "Good Luck dude, you're gonna need it." Nicol gulped.

* * *

Back at Orb, Kira suddenly received a message from the Plants.

"It's from the Plants… I wonder who sent it…"

He opened the message and became was puzzled.

_Kira,_

_I hope you don't mind receiving a message instead._

_I can't call you right now._

_We didn't go to Eurasia, Flay lied._

_We're in the Plants._

_Mir_

"The Plants…? But why…?" after giving out a few sighs, Kira made up his mind.

"That's it. I'm going…"

* * *

Please Review! It's the only way I know how many people have read this. Help me make it better. I'm open to comments, questions, suggestions, anything as long as you review it.

No flames, please respect that this is my fic. Thank you!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


	4. Tea Time

Here's Chapter 4 guys! Thanks for the reviews!

About the ooc part in chapter 3, it's not really for anyone in particular. Don't take it too seriously. It was only a friendly reminder because I noticed that a lot of authors seem to really be bothered about ooc-ness and they actually apologize for it, when it doesn't even matter, besides, what's good about FanFic is the ooc-ness of the characters, right?

The Lacus part was obviously a hint and Nicol didn't protest because if he did, their story wouldn't matter. (joking) Actually, there are three reasons: (1.) He didn't know about it until it happened, (2.) everything happened so fast and (3.) he wasn't given the chance to do so.

Read on with open minds people. Thank you!

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 4: Tea Time**

Le Creuset was leading Flay, Mir and Stella to their rooms. He insisted for them to stay in his house, thinking that it would be more convenient that way, rather than letting them stay in a hotel. Of course, Flay protested at first but thanks to Mir again the issue was settled fast. The boys were carrying their luggage. After Mir and Stella got settled, Flay was the last one left. Le Creuset took her to the room in front of his own, it would be easier to keep an eye on her that way. He opened the room and they went inside. Flay sat in a chair near the balcony and put the back of her hand under her chin, looking bored. The five bodyguards formed a line.

Le Creuset noticed the lifeless look on Flay's face, "tea time will be in a few minutes, what would you like to have?" he asked.

Flay was still in a bad mood. "I want no bodyguards." she said without looking back.

Le Creuset sighed. "Anything but that." he had a stern voice.

Flay looked at him and narrowed her eyes. "I wanna see Gil, I'm gonna get you fired."

Le Creuset sighed, "Commissioner Durandal had set-up an appointment with you tomorrow in the afternoon. So, you will get to meet him anyway."

Flay only replied with a "humph!".

There was silence. Flay focused herself in looking out the window completely ignoring the presence of everyone else. Le Creuset was thinking of something to say but can't seem to find the right words so, he ended up just sighing a lot. Tension was building up. The boys were trying to not make any noise for doing so might only provoke Flay to start saying things again and they all know that Le Creuset doesn't have much chance of winning.

Suddenly, Athrun sneezed. They all turned to him except for Flay. Nicol felt a drop of sweat role down his face again. Shinn looked in the other direction. Yzak and Dearka were giving Athrun the 'Damn you, bastard' look yet all Athrun did was rub his nose.

Then, he said "I'm sorry, please excuse me."

Since Flay didn't look, they thought she wouldn't react… but they were wrong.

"What's the matter? Got a cold or something?" she said with her head still directed outside.

Athrun was surprised and got a little tense. "Uhmm, no. please excuse me."

"You are excused." she said with a stern voice.

Athrun didn't seem to understand what she meant so he just stood there.

"Didn't you hear me? I said you were excused." she then turned to face them with her eyes narrowed.

But still Athrun didn't go anywhere.

Flay sighed then, stared at him with furrowed eye brows. Without saying anything, she stood up and approached Athrun. Suddenly, she put the back of her hand in Athrun's forehead, a gesture which surprised him and everyone else in the room, especially Nicol. Flay closed her eyes and after a few moments she put down her hand and turn to her side.

"Get out." she said in a cold manner.

Athrun was surprised, "what?"

"I said get out. You have a fever. Go home." She walked back to her seat.

"What? No, I'm fine—" he tried.

She turned back and cut him off. "Look, son of Lenore! I couldn't care less if you want to kill yourself by overworking your butt off, but right now, you're here because of me and I would never give Lenore a reason to bother visiting here so, get that through your thick head's skull and get out!" she yelled.

All of them were just stunned. Especially Athrun, he didn't know how to react. He was trying his best to not forget that she's a girl but his patience was already running dry. He was sick and didn't feel good at all. Now, he has to put up with a brat. With his eye brow twitching, he slowly glanced at his commander, Le Creuset without moving his head. After seeing him nod, Athrun quietly bowed and left the room.

As soon as the door closed, Flay turned to Le Creuset. "Don't they have sick leaves or something?" she asked in a much calmer tone.

"If you were that concerned, you should've been nicer." he replied plainly.

"Uncle Rau… please. I am anything but nice." She said then, she turned towards her seat and reached for her phone.

She called Lenore. "Good afternoon, Miss Lenore. I just called to inform you that I sent Athrun home. He's sick. Wait up for him. That's all. Goodbye."

She hung up, sighed, then placed her phone on the table, sat down and went back to her earlier posture. The entire time, Nicol, along with the remaining bodyguards, were just staring at her with wonder and curiosity.

* * *

Cagalli was walking towards the big balcony carrying the tea she had prepared earlier with the guidance of Myrna. She was thinking of a proper way to apologize to Lenore for the two incidents involving her and Athrun.

Even though she's apologized to Athrun already and even if he said it was all right, she still felt guilty and embarrassed. She was very much thankful to Lenore for providing work and shelter for her when they were complete strangers to each other. And Athrun was very patient and understanding indeed. Even after she had pushed him into the water, he just laughed and he made her feel that she didn't do anything wrong when she knew in fact, that she did.

Lenore was waiting for her there. When she saw Cagalli, she instantly smiled with gentle and kind eyes of a loving mother that she is. This gesture moved Cagalli so much for she didn't know what having a mother was like, yet she didn't shed tears. Instead, she gave Lenore her best and cutest smile, like that of a child.

"Good Afternoon, Miss Lenore. I brought you tea." She said cheerfully.

"Good afternoon to you too, Calla." she replied.

Cagalli started to pour the tea on Lenore's cup. That whole time, Lenore was just staring at her. She didn't know why but she had the feeling that she should apologize now.

"Uhmm, Miss Lenore…?" she started.

"Yes?" Lenore asked.

"Please listen, I want you to know that I am very thankful for everything that you've done for me so far and I am sincerely sorry for those horrible things I've done to Master Athrun… I really didn't mean for any of those to happen… I hope you can somehow forgive me." she stated.

Lenore suddenly laughed, really loud. Cagalli was stunned at her reaction.

"Is there something funny?" she asked.

"No, nothing… it's just, for a moment there I thought you were going to quit…" she chuckled.

"Quit?" she didn't know what Lenore meant.

"Oh, well, just forget about that…" she sipped her tea and after a few moments. "Calla… Can I ask you a Favor?"

"Of course, anything." Cagalli was delighted at the chance to get back for her troubles.

* * *

It was dinnertime; Yzak, Dearka, Shinn and Nicol were all very tired already. It's not like they did anything but stand there. However, they didn't get to have a break because Flay refused to eat. She didn't say anything else after sending Athrun away, she didn't even move. She remained neatly seated in that chair near the balcony with the back of her hand under her chin, looking bored. She was like that the whole time and the boys… they just tried not to fall asleep while standing.

The silence was deafening until Yzak whispered to Dearka.

"I can't take this anymore, she's gonna drive me crazy. If I have to spend another minute here like a statue, I'd snap." He said while gritting his teeth.

"Well, you're just bored but me, I'm starving." Shinn whined.

"Shut up you two, don't you know how you're making Nicol feel?" Dearka asked taking a quick glance at Nicol.

Nicol's face was emotionless, he was just staring at her. Shinn and Yzak glanced at him. Suddenly, they heard someone's stomach growling. It was Shinn's. Yzak and Dearka looked at him.

"What? I'm dying here already." he whispered with an irritated face.

"Get out." Flay said without looking back which got their attention.

They stared at her back trying to prepare for the worst. Then, she looked at them with half-lidded eyes.

"You guys are hungry and tired. Go home." She said plainly.

"What about you? You hadn't eaten anything since you came here." Nicol was the only one who dared answer.

"I'm not hungry. I'm going to sleep now." she started taking off her boots. "just turn off the lights before you leave." she walked towards the bed.

"But—" Nicol was thinking of a way to make her eat when she interrupted him.

"I'm fine." she smiled a small smile at them. "…really." Then, she crawled to bed.

Yzak went out first, followed by Dearka and Shinn. Nicol didn't move, he was still staring at her while she pretends to sleep.

Dearka whispered to Nicol, "Come on, dude."

Nicol turned off the lights and just before he went out.

"Good night." she said.

"Good night." he replied then he closed the door.

* * *

Lenore was in a car, on her way to a restaurant. She was suppose to meet someone there. The car turned then it parked and she went out. Inside the restaurant, she started to scan the area for something pink. And there she was at the table beside the huge aquarium, sitting all by herself. It was Lacus.

Lenore went to her and greeted her with a gentle smile. "Good evening, Miss Lacus." She said to her.

Lacus stood and bowed her head before returning the greeting. "Good evening to you too, Miss Lenore. Please, have a seat." She said with a smile.

Lenore took a seat. "Let's proceed with the plans, shall we?"

Lacus nodded.

* * *

Cagalli, Shiho, Luna, and Meyrin have already finished eating dinner and started cleaning up the table. Luna was the one washing the dishes while Shiho helped her. Meyrin was sitting at the corner of the table, Cagalli sitting across her. She was quite interested in the first actual meeting of Cagalli and Athrun so, she decided to just casually ask her.

"So, what the hell happened earlier?" she started. "I heard you pushed Master Athrun in the pond, you really hate him that much?"

"I didn't mean that! It was that stupid cat's fault!" Cagalli defended herself.

"What happened anyway?" Luna asked.

"Well… ugh…" she took a deep breath. "I was toying with Mimi earlier then, he bit me so I wanted to throw him into the pond but Master Athrun came to stop me. I was mad so I didn't listen to him. When he snatched Mimi away, I pushed him and… well, that's what happened." she sighed.

"I can't believe you pushed Master Athrun in the cold water of the pond, early in the morning." Shiho commented.

"Girls, please. I feel so bad already." Cagalli tried to end it.

After a few moments of silence.

"So… What do you think?" Meyrin started again.

"About what?" Cagalli didn't get it.

"Master Athrun, duh? Isn't he just handsome?" her eyes were twinkling.

"Uhmm… Well, I guess he is kinda good-looking…" she was unsure of her answer.

"That's it? No blush, no spark, no fireworks?" Meyrin was a bit disappointed.

"Well, what did you expect after the things that happened?" Shiho said.

Meyrin pouted.

"Don't worry, Mey. I'm sure Calla has already left a great big impact for a first and second impression." Luna giggled.

"That's not funny!" this time Cagalli blushed, she was really embarrassed.

"Luna, you're a genius!" she cheered as she saw the redness in Cagalli's cheeks. "Now I know Calla blushes when humiliated!" she turned to Cagalli. "Calla, you're cuter when you blush so from now on, I will do my very best to embarrass you in front of Master Athrun!"

"That's a great idea! Let's do it!" Luna agreed.

"Let's also get Sting and Auel to help us! Maybe even Arthur, Kojiro and Myrna!" Shiho gave her support.

"Yeah!" the three girls cheered.

Cagalli was just stunned in her seat, watching the trio. "You gotta be kidding me…"

* * *

Yzak roughly pulled a seat and slouched as Dearka put his tray on the table and sit beside him. Shinn sat in front of Yzak and Nicol was in front of Dearka. They were having a late dinner due to everything that happened that day.

"So much for a vacation..." Shinn muttered.

"I can't believe we're gonna have to put up with her for two weeks!" Yzak whined.

"Well, at least you don't have to marry her—" Shinn said but tried to stop when he realized what he had just said. Then, he looked at Nicol.

Nicol just sighed.

"Oh, come on! She's pretty, she sent Athrun home because he was sick and she's only grumpy because she didn't want to have bodyguards! She's a girl; she's supposed to be moody! Can't you guys understand that?" Dearka tried to talk some sense into the guys.

Then, he sighed and faced Nicol. "Look, Nicol. You don't know her yet. Commander Le Creuset gave you this chance to get to know her without her knowing you. What do you think would happen if she knew who you were? And besides, do you remember earlier how sweet she was when she arrived? It's practically, our fault that she's grumpy. Think about it, she didn't even eat anything."

Sensing that Dearka had a point, Nicol lit up a bit. "So, what am I suppose to do now?"

"Let's give her another chance… tomorrow." Dearka replied.

A little while later.

Out of the blue, Shinn spoke. "I wonder whatever happened to Athrun."

* * *

Athrun has just reached their estate, he was getting dizzy and was ready to doze off any moment now. He was so hot—literally, because his fever's continuously rising. When he got to the door, he leaned on it first, trying to muster up some energy to pretend he's not sick to whoever answers his knock. After taking a few deep breaths, he tried to knock but before his knuckles could hit the door, it opened.

"Master Athrun…?"

He was so dizzy he couldn't recognize the face in front of him but the voice was familiar. Then, he fell to the floor but before he lost consciousness, he muttered the name of the person who caught him.

"Calla…"

* * *

Please Review! It's the only way I know how many people have read this. Help me make it better. I'm open to comments, questions, suggestions, anything as long as you review it.

No flames, please respect that this is my Fic. Thank you!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


	5. Unexpected Encounters

Chapter 5! Thanks for the reviews!

Okay guys, I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of Lacus and yes, I like Flay, she's a realistic character, I used her here because we all know she's scheming. And sorry for those unbelievable cliffhangers (*evil laugh*), I wanna keep an exciting atmosphere so please just bear with me.

Read on with open minds people. Thank you!

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 5: Unexpected Encounters**

It was early in the morning, the La Creuset team just reported for duty. They formed their line on the side as La Creuset was having breakfast. Flay suddenly barged in without knocking, she was carrying a bouquet of flowers of different colors. She put the bouquet in front of Le Creuset.

"What's the meaning of this?" she seemed upset.

"A bouquet of flowers… They're beautiful. What about it?" he was trying to be patient.

"These flowers are from Romina, my fiancé's mother." she said firmly.

"Well, isn't that great?" he questioned.

"Uncle Rau, I told you to keep my arrival here a secret." by this time, there was a sense of fear in her voice and they all felt that.

"I did. That's why it became a mission for my team." he reasoned in a concerned tone.

"Then, how did she find out?" she asked in a lower tone.

"I don't know." he replied.

Nicol suddenly remembered telling his parents about this mission, he knew he was the one responsible but of course, he can't tell them that, not yet, maybe after knowing why Flay was so troubled. Flay sighed in frustration and sat down beside her uncle. She looked really worried.

"I'm gonna die…" she muttered. "I'm gonna die for sure."

Nicol was shocked at hearing what she just said and the other bodyguards were just as surprised and curious.

"Are you all right? You should eat. You haven't eaten anything since yesterday." Le Creuset tried to put her at ease. "Don't worry, I'm here and so are your bodyguards."

Flay didn't react. She was just quietly sitting there, looking down. Then, Mir and Stella arrived.

"Good morning." Mir said followed by Stella.

"Good morning, you two." Le Creuset was the one who replied.

Mir pulled a chair beside Flay and Stella went beside Mir.

"Something wrong Flay?" she asked.

Flay was just looking down then she looked at Mir.

"Lend me your Tracker Program." she said plainly.

"Uhmm, sure but why do you need it?" Mir asked as she was about to eat.

"They're coming…" she quickly answered.

Mir froze and looked at her, then looked at the bouquet in the table. "Oh my God, he sent that?" pointing at the flowers.

"No, that's from Romina, my fiancé's mother." she explained.

"You scared me for a moment there. Wait. Your fiancé's mother sent you flowers?" Mir got curious.

"Well, it actually had my fiancé's name on it but he can't possibly be the one who sent it so, I figured it was his mother." She said.

Dearka, Shinn and Yzak looked at Nicol. When Nicol noticed them, he looked down.

"Okay… I'll just give you the Flash Drive later after we go shopping." Mir was excited.

"No, I need it now and I'm not going with you girls, I'll pass on the shopping this time." Flay sighed.

Mir and Stella were just staring at her.

"Why? Are you sick or something?" Stella asked.

"Yeah, you never say 'no' to shopping. You're a material girl." Mir was starting to get worried but she'd rather joke.

Flay glared at them. Then she covered her face with both of her hands and lowered her head to the table.

This caused Mir to panic a little. "Okay, okay. I get it. We're supposed to be serious, right? Sorry." she said putting her hand at Flay's shoulder.

Flay then removed her hands from her face but her head remained resting on the table, facing Mir and Stella.

"Stella will buy you something nice. What would you like?" Stella tried to cheer her up.

"Surprise me." then she smiled.

Mir stood up. "Okay, I'll just leave the Flash Drive in your bedside table. Let's go, Stella."

"Love you Stella, thanks." Flay said sweetly.

"Stella loves you too, Flay." Stella smiled.

"What about me?" Mir joked.

"It depends… What are you gonna get me?" Flay joked too then, giggled. "Just joking. Love you too, Mir."

"You'd better!" she waved back. "See you later, Mr. Le Creuset, boys." Then the two went off.

Flay turned back at the table.

"Please eat, Flay… We'll visit Commissioner Durandal later. Don't let him see you like that." Le Creuset said with furrowed eye brows.

Flay just nodded.

* * *

Athrun woke up in his room, he put his hand on his forehead then he stared at the ceiling. He remembered how he arrived last night and how he fell in Calla's arms. Suddenly, he felt something move beside him. He was shocked to see Calla there. Calla was sitting on the floor, her hands curled up under her head, resting on the side of his bed.

He got up to take a closer look at her. He touched her face then, he blushed without noticing it. She was very beautiful indeed, he thought. While staring at her, he heard footsteps from outside his room. He quickly laid back then, he heard a knock and someone peeked in. It was Lenore. Upon seeing his mother, he sat back up again.

"Good morning, dear. How are you feeling?" Lenore asked.

"Good morning, mom. I'm… a lot better now." he answered.

Then, Lenore sat beside the sleeping Cagalli, careful not to wake her up.

"You had me a little worried back there, Flay called and said you were sick so she sent you home. She told me to wait up for you but I had to meet up with someone so I had Calla wait for you." she explained.

"I see…" He looked at Cagalli then he realized something. "Wait, Flay called you?" He couldn't believe it after all that Flay said to him.

"Well, yes. I know she doesn't seem like it but she's actually kind… You know, Rau called earlier too, and told me that you were taken out of your current mission. It's because Flay requested for you to have a leave." Lenore explained.

"What? Really?" he kept his doubts.

"By the way, Calla was really worried about you, you know. She never left your side and kept on blaming herself for what happened, she must've been really scared when you fell in front of her." she said.

"Yeah… well, I didn't wanna scare her but I was really dizzy that time." he said.

"So, what do you think about her?" Lenore asked out of the blue.

"What? Mom…" he blushed.

Lenore giggled. "I'll let her take care of you from now on."

"Mom, please don't. I don't wanna be a bother to her." he tried resisting.

"Oh, come on. You know you want her." she teased.

"Mom!"

* * *

Le Creuset led Flay to Durandal's office, the four boys followed. When they got there Durandal stood, went over to Flay and they hugged, saying how much they missed each other. The four boys were so surprised as to how close they were.

After a little chat between them, Flay had an outburst.

"You're taking him out of the team? But I didn't ask you to do that." she nearly yelled.

"No, of course not, just out of this mission. I decided to give him a leave based on what you said… Rau told me. Why? Do you want him back?" Durandal replied.

Flay paused for a few moments. "No, it's good that he's not around. Thanks."

Durandal nodded. "So, as I was saying, I'm glad to introduce you to Athrun's replacement…"

A blonde guy entered the room and Flay got excited. She ran to the guy and hugged him.

"Rey! I missed you so much!"

* * *

Cagalli knocked before entering the room. She was carrying a tray which had a bowl of chicken soup which Myrna made. It was for Athrun.

"Here, Master Athrun. Please eat this, Myrna said it would make you feel better." Cagalli placed the tray in front of Athrun.

"Thanks a lot. By the way, please stop calling me 'Master Athrun', just Athrun will be fine." he replied.

"But everyone calls you 'Master Athrun', I can't possibly be an exception." she reasoned.

"Actually, all of them just call me Athrun, we just don't let mom and dad know." he lied.

"Really? Well, if that's the case then…" she was slowly being convinced.

"Just call me Athrun, okay?" he said.

"Okay… Athrun." She said with a smile.

Cagalli smiled a cute smile and Athrun was just mesmerized. Again, he didn't notice he was already blushing. He stared at her for a few moments, fantasizing until she interrupted him.

"By the way, Athrun." She said.

"Yeah?"

"I'm really sorry about pushing you into the pond yesterday. I know it was my fault you got sick—"

Athrun tried to stop her. "No—"

"Please, let me finish. Even if you say that it's all right, I'm still the one at fault and I heard about you being taken out of your team's mission, so… please let me make it up to you." she said, looking down.

Athrun had a few naughty thoughts after hearing hear say those things but he decided not to take advantage of her. However, he also wanted to keep her by his side at all times.

"All right. You can make it up to me by being my personal maid and doing everything I tell you too." he said with a smirk.

"What?" she wasn't expecting something like that.

* * *

Durandal decided to have a private lunch with Flay and Le Creuset so Yzak, Dearka, Shinn, Nicol and Rey are now eating by themselves. Nicol was in a corner of the table; beside him was Dearka then, Yzak. In front of Nicol was Shinn and beside Shinn was Rey.

Nicol was just quiet. Rey felt something disturbing so he decided to try and not make any sudden movements. Yzak didn't care but Shinn was starting to feel some pressure that wasn't even supposed to be there in the first place.

Dearka couldn't take it anymore so, he broke the ice. "So… What's your relationship with Flay?" he was being overly casual.

Shinn quietly glanced at Nicol then, he looked at Dearka thinking, _"What the hell do you think you're doing?"_

"What are you talking about?" Rey asked.

"Nothing… you two just seemed really close, that's all." he said, trying not to look at Nicol.

"Oh, that's because we've known each other since childhood, because of Gil's friendship with Rau." Rey explained.

"Really…?" this time, Dearka took a glance at Nicol.

Then, Yzak snapped. "Oh, damn it! Can't you take a hint? The reason why we have this stupid atmosphere is because Nicol here, is Flay's fiancé and you were too close to her earlier." he almost shouted.

"Oh? Sorry about that. I almost forgot what Rau said about 'Nick Swaile', he told us everything. So, don't worry, I'll help." he smiled at Nicol.

Nicol looked at him and lit up a bit, "I'm really sorry guys… I don't even know why I'm acting like this."

Shinn sighed in relief. "I say, blame the writer."

"Well, at least, we can breathe now, right?" Dearka joked.

"What can you say about Flay?" Nicol asked out of the blue, which caught the attention of the four guys around him.

They all turned to Rey.

Rey started. "Well… I know that she's mean, snobbish, rude, sarcastic and just brutally frank… but when it comes down to it… I mean, really, really, really deep down to it, she can be… to some extent… when you get used to her… almost nice—almost."

They all bursted out laughing, even Nicol.

Outside the dining hall, Flay was listening.

* * *

Cagalli was walking through the hallways, lost in her mind because of what Athrun said. She was trying to figure out what he had in mind, she knows he's not a bad person but she also knows that she doesn't know him well enough yet.

"Calla!" Shiho called her while running to her direction.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going out right now, wanna come with me? I'm sure Master Athrun won't mind if you take a little break, besides you haven't even been around much right?"

"Uhmm, okay, sure." she answered without really thinking.

After they changed into casual clothes, they asked permission from Myrna and Arthur before leaving. Shiho was wearing a polo shirt with jeans while Cagalli was wearing a red shirt, cargo pants and sneakers. Cagalli didn't wear her cap because Meyrin took it and hid it somewhere saying, _"Girls as cute as you shouldn't even have things like this!" _All Cagalli could do was sigh in defeat, Meyrin's just too hyper.

Shiho was given a list of things to check out, most of it were supplies for parties. Cagalli didn't want to attract attention so she just tagged along with her quietly, following her every move and turn. Until Shiho noticed some guys staring at them, she then turned to Cagalli who seemed completely oblivious to all the attention she's getting, she can even hear girls make remarks about Cagalli being cute.

"Wow, Calla. You're unbelievable." she commented.

"Hmmm?" she looked at her.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed; people, men, women, guys, girls even children say you're so pretty and the like. So many of them are staring at us, just because of you. I've taken this road before on my own and never did anyone notice me." she said, trying to give Cagalli a hint of jealousy in her voice.

Cagalli blushed. "What are you saying? They're not looking at me… are they?"

Shiho laughed at her innocent reaction which made Cagalli even blush more.

As they were taking a turn at a corner of a street, Cagalli suddenly stopped. She looked shocked and scared at the same time which troubled Shiho.

"Are you okay, Calla?" she got a little worried.

Before Cagalli could answer, she hurriedly took Shiho in the wrist and turned back but before she can make a run for it, they heard a girl yell.

"Cagalli? Cagalli, is that you?"

By this time Cagalli couldn't move anymore due to tension, her mind went blank. Thinking that she got caught already, Cagalli mustered what's left of her strength and looked back at the girl.

It was Mir.

* * *

That night, Mir was pacing back and forth of her room. No matter how much thought she put into it "_that girl was definitely Cagalli!"_ she yelled inside her mind. _"But what was she doing here? I thought she was kidnapped! Why did she change her name? And why the hell was she a maid?"_

Her mind was filled with confusion, questions and worry. Mir didn't know what to think. In fact, she didn't want to think anymore because her brain is nearly bursting.

Flay hasn't gotten back yet from her visit to the Commissioner of Zaft. _"Did she have something to do with this? If she did, why didn't she tell me? Or maybe she doesn't even know yet."_

Just then she received a call, thinking that it was from Flay, she hurriedly picked it up and prepared herself to yell her loudest. But after hearing an unexpected voice from the other end of the line, she froze.

"Hello, Mir? It's me, Kira. I'm here now."

* * *

How was the cliffhanger? Better?

Please Review! It's the only way I know how many people have read this. Help me make it better. I'm open to comments, questions, suggestions, anything as long as you review it.

No flames, please respect that this is my Fic. Thank you!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


	6. Of Dates and Meetings

Chapter 6! Thanks for the reviews!

About the conversation between Flay and Mir at the breakfast table: the people Flay referred to as 'them' are the real antagonists in this story and the person whom Mir referred to as 'him' is the stalker of the 'stalker incident' which Flay and Rau talked about earlier in the story. 'Him' and 'they' will be revealed soon as the story progresses.

I'd like to clarify that Cagalli never heard the conversation between Athrun and Lenore, she was actually informed about Athrun's dismissal by the other servants.

Read on with open minds, people. Thank you!

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 6: Of Dates and Meetings**

Athrun and Cagalli were sitting in the middle of the garden in front of their breakfast. Cagalli was feeling a bit uncomfortable because she was ordered to eat with the Master of the house. Athrun, on the other hand, seems to enjoy this a lot. He was sitting across her, just staring at her, smiling to himself.

What bothered Cagalli even more was the fact that everyone was practically watching them! Lenore supported this whole set-up all the way, after all, she was the one who suggested the garden idea. Myrna cooked Cagalli's favorite dishes, making it just ever so hard for her to resist. Arthur was the one who arranged the table and Kojiro made sure the area, were the table was placed, was surrounded by tons of flowers and has a breath-taking view of the city.

Meyrin, Luna, Shiho, Auel and Sting were nearly fighting for space just to get a peek at the two. Sting and Auel were at the bottom while Meyrin and Luna were at the top, Shiho was standing beside them.

"Can you believe this? Even Miss Lenore gave her vote on Calla!" Meyrin said excitedly.

"Yeah… but aren't things a bit dull? From the looks of it, only Master Athrun seems to be attracted." Sting commented.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Master Athrun will sweep her off her feet in no time!" Luna was very enthusiastic.

"Why am I at the bottom? Meyrin, you're heavy!" Auel squirmed.

"Hold still, you idiot!" Meyrin hit his head.

"You know guys… maybe we should give them some privacy?" Shiho suggested.

"Are you crazy? There is no way I'll miss something like this, it's a once in a lifetime chance!" Auel stated.

"Yeah, besides, even they're watching." Meyrin reasoned while pointing at Miss Lenore's balcony.

From a distance, Cagalli was just looking down, trying her best not to look at Athrun because she knows she'll only end up blushing to death when she meets his eyes. Still staring at her, Athrun was starting to feel awkward. Cagalli won't stop fidgeting, he can tell she isn't comfortable at all.

"Sorry." he said out of the blue which instantly caught Cagalli's attention. "I should've known better than to put you through something as humiliating as this, we both know everyone's watching us."

"No, it's fine. It's not your fault, it's theirs. I don't even know why they act like that." she replied trying to not drag on the awkward atmosphere.

Athrun chuckled. "So… Wanna have a day-off?"

"What?" she was surprised.

"I want you to go out with me. I figured, it's weird to have them around. So, let's go elsewhere." he said confidently.

"_How could he be so blunt like that? Is it because I'm a maid and he's my Master?"_ she thought, staring at him with a weird expression of surprise mixed with disbelief on her face.

Seeing her give out such a reaction made Athrun feel uneasy. He blushed, felt a bit of embarrassment, thinking back on what he just said, he looked down.

Cagalli then understood that her silence made him somehow feel bad.

"Okay." she muttered, making sure it was loud enough for him to hear.

"Excuse me?" he wanted to make sure he heard her right.

"I said, okay. Let's go, they're starting to irritate me!" eyeing Meyrin pull Auel's hair.

Athrun followed what she was looking at and chuckled.

* * *

Kira was walking around town by himself, lost in his own world thinking about everything that Mir said. _"So, Cagalli wasn't really kidnapped. But why did Flay have to lie to me? Did she have something to do with this?"_ He sighed and stopped for a while to look around on his whereabouts.

The road he's taking seems to be on its way to a shopping district. He decided to turn around when Torii (Birdy), his pet bird, flew away in the other direction. Kira, without really thinking ran after him. Torii turned at a corner and when Kira followed, he accidentally bumped into a girl with pink hair. (Who happens to be Lacus! Duh! Who else could it possibly be?)

Her things were scattered everywhere. As she kneeled down to gather her things, Kira was still standing there, looking at Torii's direction. He bit his lower lip and decided to help the girl first before continuing the chase for his pet.

"I am so sorry." He said, shaking his head while kneeling down to pick up her things.

She replied. "No, it's okay. Accidents like this really do happen, I guess." Only when the author doesn't have anything better to write. (Blame me!)

After picking up the papers and her other things, Kira quickly handed them to the girl and turned to Torii's direction again. Much to his dismay, Torii was nowhere in sight. All he could do was sigh then he held his forehead.

Lacus noticed his expression and couldn't help to think that she took part in his misfortune. After all, if she wasn't there in the first place, they won't bump into each other and if she didn't drop her things, he wouldn't have to help her. (But come on, if she wasn't there, their story won't gain improvement!)

"Uhmm, I'm sorry. I troubled you." she went to his side.

"No, it's not your fault." he said, still not looking at her.

"What were you running after anyway?" she asked.

"My pet bird." he replied, this time he took a quick glance at her then, decided to look at her again because he almost didn't notice how beautiful was the girl he bumped into.

"Would you like me to help you look for him?" she asked then, faced Kira.

"Uhmm… No, it's fine. I would rather not bother you." He said turning his head back at Torii's direction.

"No, I insist. Please do let me help you." she said with deeply concerned eyes.

Kira allowed her, he couldn't resist.

* * *

The silence was deafening again. No one was dared make noise. Flay was back at her chair, near the balcony, in bored posture and the boys were in line at one side of the room.

"Hey, Rey. Do something!" Yzak whispered.

"Like what?" he asked.

"I don't know! Anything! As long as we'll be aloud to breathe!" he whispered furiously.

Rey sighed. "Uhmm, Flay…" he started.

"Yeah?" she replied without looking back.

"Can we just sit? As long as we're guarding you, it's fine right?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure. Do what you want." she responded.

"What? That's it! We've been standing here for hours and it's supposed to be fine whatever we do anyway! Why didn't you tell us that in the beginning?" Yzak snapped.

"You never asked." she said plainly.

"Remind me she's a girl." Yzak murmured. Dearka and Nicol looked at him.

Rey sighed again as they sat around.

"So, Flay. What brings you to the Plants? You didn't just come here out of pure whim like what Commander said, right?"

"I came here for an important mission." still not looking back.

"Really? What's that?" Shinn said sounding sarcastic.

Flay smirked to herself then, she turned back wearing a serious look on her face which got all of their attention.

"The princess of Orb was kidnapped."

* * *

Cagalli was in her room, looking for something to wear for she agreed to go out with Athrun. Unfortunately, she couldn't find something which would impress him, not that she cared, she just didn't wanna embarrass herself more than she already has.

Just then, Meyrin barged in screaming.

"I can't believe this is happening! It's like a dream come true!" Meyrin was very excited.

"What did I say about barging in? Meyrin, are you listening to me?" Cagalli yelled.

"Who cares about barging in? You're dating Master Athrun!" Luna had it just as bad as Meyrin.

Cagalli sighed. "And here I thought I was a pain."

"So, what are you gonna wear?" Shiho interrupted her.

"Yeah! You have to be really pretty today!" Meyrin jumped on her back.

"I'm not really sure… maybe just a tee and—" Cagalli tried.

Meyrin cut her off. "No way! You have to wear a skirt! A mini skirt!"

"What? No, I can't! It's bad enough I had to wear a knee-high skirt like this." pointing to her maid uniform. "Why do I have to—" Cagalli noticed the look the three girls had. "No!"

Athrun was waiting outside, leaning on his car when Cagalli came. Bull's eye! He's a dead goner. Cagalli was wearing a sleeveless apple green polo, a white mini skirt and green sandals. Her hair had a semi side pony on the left side of her head.

Athrun and Cagalli were both furiously blushing by the time they were in front of each other. And of course, everyone was feasting on them. Athrun was the one who took the initiative and they were out of there in no time.

* * *

Kira and Lacus found Torii in a little park and decided to rest for a while inside a café across the street. After ordering, Kira remembered that he hasn't even yet ask the girl what her name was.

"So, what's your name, Miss?" he asked casually.

"Oh, that's right! We haven't had introductions yet. I'm Lacus." she answered cheerfully and stretched out her hand.

"My name is Ki—" Kira paused when he was about to say his real name. _"I can't tell her my real name."_ he thought to himself. "Ah… My name is Chris." Good thing he thinks fast.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Chris." she said then, they shook hands.

"Same here." he chuckled nervously in relief.

After they were comfortable with each other, they engaged in casual chatting until Lacus received a phone call. It was from Lenore. Apparently, they actually had plans to see each other but Lacus completely forgot because of Kira. She excused herself but after Kira heard the name 'Lenore', he convinced her to take him along or at least let him talk to her. At first Lacus was unsure with the idea of taking a complete stranger to meet the wife of the Chairman of the Plants but after Kira talked to Lenore over the phone and Lenore agreed, Lacus was convinced.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight. The princess of Orb was kidnapped, the prince of Orb is missing and you were sent here for protection with a mission?" Rey asked.

"Exactly." Flay answered.

"That's impossible! What kind of idiots do you take us for?" Yzak snapped.

"The really stupid kind." Flay muttered.

"What did you say?" Yzak stood up.

"Look, guys. You don't have to believe me and you don't have to listen to anything I say. I don't care." she paused. "But you asked me, so, I answered. That's it." she stated then, she turned back to the balcony, regaining her bored posture.

They were all just staring at each other when Rey decided to try again.

"So… what did your father say about all of this?" he asked.

"Nothing, he doesn't know I'm here." Flay replied without turning back.

"WHAT?" they all reacted together in an outburst.

"What do you mean, he doesn't know?" Rey asked in panic.

"Don't make me repeat myself." she was starting to get irritated.

"You ran away…?" Yzak asked.

"No… I just left without telling him" she said plainly.

"What the hell's the difference?" Shinn joined in.

"The difference is, I have plans to go back! Unlike her." she lowered her voice at the end of the sentence.

"Her?" Rey asked.

"You don't need to know." she said.

Rey sighed, trying to maintain his composure. He turned back and placed his hand in his forehead.

Nicol got impatient and worried, so he decided to just ask her straight. He took a seat in front of her. "Can you please just tell us what's really going on?" he asked.

Flay looked at him and decided to face him because of the sincerity she saw in his eyes.

"I didn't tell my father I was here because I'm still mad at him for giving me away." she started. "What he knows is that, I'm having a vacation in Eurasia. He also doesn't know anything about the disappearance of the Prince and Princess because Orb is actually doing a good job keeping it a secret. The Treaty-signing will be in less than two weeks, something has to be done before then." She looked down.

They were all surprised at her sincerity, although she was actually lying the whole time, it was still the first time that she made them feel that she's being open even if the truth is it's all a big façade.

"So, what are you planning? You can trust us." Nicol looked at his teammates. "Right, guys?"

"Yeah, sure." Dearka answered.

"Of course, our mission is to protect you and that's our top priority right now." Rey assured her.

"Besides, it's not like we've got much choice." Shinn said.

"As long as you let us move around, I'm fine with anything." Yzak added.

"See?" Nicol smiled at her.

Flay looked at him straight and slowly smiled, "In that case, can you promise me first that you won't say anything to Rau and Gil?"

They all turned to her.

* * *

After having lunch, Athrun and Cagalli were driving around town with no particular destination in mind. They were just enjoying the ride and the company of each other.

"Where do you wanna go?" Athrun started.

"Anywhere." Cagalli answered.

"Wanna go to a mall?" he asked, he wanted to buy her something.

"What's a mall?" she asked innocently.

Athrun was so surprised, he just had to pull over. "Are you serious?"

"Well… A mall is supposed to be a place where you buy a lot of things, right?" she said.

"Yeah, basically." he replied.

"Uhmm… I've never been to one." she confessed.

"You've never been to a mall before?" he couldn't believe it.

"No, there aren't things like that where I came from." she lied. She can't say that she's never been to a mall before because everything she wears, were made especially for her, everything she needs were bought for her and whenever she escapes from the palace she avoids crowded places like malls.

"_Is this, what poverty is like?" _he thought. "In any case, let's go."

Cagalli nodded.

When they got there, Cagalli was stunned in amazement at the huge infrastructure. There were a lot of glass walls, a lot of people, different things in all shapes and sizes. From clothes to household stuff to food to mechanics to toys to pets, everything was there.

"I'll take you to my mother's friend, she'll get you nice clothes for sure." then, he led her to a shop with a lot clothes. "This place is owned by Aisha, a really close friend of my mom, I'm sure she knows what will look good on you." he turned and saw Aisha. "There she is."

"Aisha!" he called, waving. "Can you get her some clothes, please?" he said to the beautiful lady with black hair and orange highlights.

"Sure. Hmmm… I didn't know you had a girlfriend." she teased him.

"She's not my girlfriend! I mean, not yet but I'm no saying I have plans to—" he tried to defend himself.

"Whatever…" she cut him off and took Cagalli by the hand. "So, what's your name?"

"Calla." Cagalli answered.

"What a beautiful name! Now let's see what type you are, do you know? Because I think you're a summer." she said.

"Actually, I'm a 'four seasons' type." she said proudly.

"Really?" This statement surprised and intrigued Aisha. Normally, a girl can only qualify for a single season type but she stated that she qualifies for all four.

"Yes. Erica said I look great on anything and everything." she stated again plainly, as if it was normal for her.

"All right then, let's see." Then Aisha took her to a changing room and gave her clothes from sexy blacks to frilly pinks, from cool to hot, from punk to elegant, from simple to flamboyant and the results were all the same, she looks so damn great, it could kill!

Every time she would change and reveal herself, Athrun gasps for air, blushes to death and his heart skips a beat or two! She's just so beautiful! Whether her hair is up, down, tied, braided, curled or just messed up, she was just so beautiful! It was an undeniable fact that the world can't take! Damn it!

After settling back to her original clothes and picking a few of what she tried on, Athrun didn't need to pay for anything, Aisha wanted to give her the entire store! She wanted her to be a model and everything but Cagalli refused, getting attention like this would surely wound her up back to Orb.

After a lot of pulling and begging, Athrun finally got Cagalli back from Aisha. They were now on their way back to the estate.

"Could you believe her? She acted as if I stole her favorite doll, she even called you her 'Dolly'." Athrun stated.

"Yeah, she reminds me a lot of Meyrin and Luna, they called me 'Dolly' too when I first arrived there." she said.

"Really? What made them stop?" he got curious.

"Well, they stopped when Auel said I was more like a Goddess than their Doll." She giggled.

He chuckled. "He said that?"

"Yeah. What do you think suits me better?" she joked.

He paused for a while, "Hmmm… I'd prefer Angel… or maybe Princess…?"

Cagalli almost choked at the word. "Princess, huh?"

* * *

After quite some time of talking alone, Kira and Lenore stepped out. Lacus had only been waiting for about twenty minutes but she felt something different so she was bothered and really relieved when they finally came out. Lenore assured Lacus that everything was all right and even added that 'Chris' will be staying with them from now on, with this Lacus was convinced and decided to head home.

Lenore and Kira were walking Lacus out of the house when they heard a car park outside. Then, the doors opened revealing Athrun and Cagalli, laughing together. Suddenly, Cagalli noticed a familiar face staring at her then, she froze. Athrun wondered and decided to look at what made her react like that.

There he was walking towards them, stopping just in front of both of them.

"Long time no see, my dear little sister."

* * *

Please Review! It's the only way I know how many people have read this. Help me make it better. I'm open to comments, questions, suggestions, anything as long as you review it.

No flames, please respect that this is my Fic. Thank you!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


	7. Another Newcomer

Chapter 7! Thanks for the reviews!

Guys, if you think the romantic scenes in this Fic is a little too light for your taste, then you're just gonna have to pardon me for that because I really don't like indulging in too much sappy stuff and Flay is the third main character in this story so it figures why there's a lot of her around, just so you know.

How and Why do I update fast? (within 2-4 days only) The answer is simple, really. I'm a freaking Hikikomori and I've got nothing better to do with my NEET life! Lolx!

Read on with open minds, people. Thank you!

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 7: Another Newcomer.**

The five bodyguards were at the dinner table for their break. Up to now they're still unsure if they would believe the things Flay said or not. They wanted to discuss things first and clear everything up, after all, Flay asked them to not tell Commander Rau and Commissioner Durandal, they can't be careless.

"So, are we seriously gonna do this?" Dearka asked.

"Yeah, I mean, can we really trust her? We're putting our jobs on the line here." Shinn added.

Yzak, Dearka and Shinn looked at Nicol. Nicol kept quiet.

"Well, I say we give it another shot, we only need her to open up more so we could get more information. Don't worry guys, this time we'll be prepared." Rey said.

"What do you mean?" Shinn asked.

"We'll bring out our secret weapon." Rey smirked.

The four looked at him with an awkward expression on their faces.

* * *

Athrun and Lenore were at the balcony watching Cagalli and Kira from a distance.

"Mom, tell me just exactly what is going on." Athrun sounded really concerned.

"Well… it turns out that Calla ran away from home then, her big brother, Chris, went out to search for her and now he finally found her." Lenore was lying. She knew about the real identities of those two but of course, Athrun doesn't know that.

"Why did she run away?" he felt curious.

"I'm not really sure. I didn't think it was proper for me to violate their privacy so I just didn't ask." she answered eyeing the expression on Athrun's face.

"Is he going to take her home?" he asked.

"Let's just hope not…"

Meanwhile, Kira and Cagalli were completely in the face of each other.

"Have you gone completely insane? Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you've caused Orb? You are so lucky, Kisaka did a good job keeping this from the public! You are so lucky, Lenore found you!" Kira was seriously upset.

"I don't care about those things anymore! I'm not going back!" Cagalli was just equally upset.

"Cagalli! There is no way that I would let you stay here under these circumstances! Orb needs you! You have obligations and responsibilities that you have to tend to!" Kira yelled.

"I don't care! I will do what I want with my life and there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop me!" Cagalli yelled back.

"What has gotten into you? If this is about that engagement thing, that's low! Even I'll be engaged too but I never reacted like this!" Kira was reaching his limit.

"That's because you're an idiot! You don't know what's more important!" Cagalli's not backing out.

"What's more important is Peace, Cagalli! It's better to sacrifice our freedom than the countless lives of innocent people and soldiers!" Kira knew he should've stopped there but he chose to go on.

Cagalli dared him. "What are you gonna do?"

* * *

The next day, the five bodyguards went inside Flay's room. Rey was carrying a small paper bag but he didn't tell the others what was in it, he only said to wait and they'll see.

Flay was back at her chair, looking bored again.

"Hey, Flay. Good morning" Rey greeted her casually. The other four sat around.

"Good morning." she replied without looking.

"Can we talk more seriously this time?" Rey started.

"What do you mean? You weren't serious before?" she answered with questions.

"Well, we were but… something tells us that you haven't yet told us everything." he explained.

"Of course, I didn't. I don't even know if I could really trust any of you." she explained her side.

Rey sighed, "Flay, we'll be risking our jobs here and we won't say anything to Commander Rau and Commissioner Durandal. Of course, you can trust us… so please, we need you to be completely honest… I'll give you something nice…"

Flay looked back. Rey smiled.

"Finally, we got your attention." Shinn commented.

"We'll just be asking you questions which need serious answers…" Rey started.

"Just answer all of it honestly from now on." Yzak demanded.

"All right…?" Rey continued, Flay was just staring at Rey then, she exchanged glances with Nicol and went back to staring at Rey. Yzak, Dearka and Shinn noticed that.

"You know what? I think she trusts Nicol more now than Rey… maybe we should let Nicol handle this." Shinn whispered to Yzak and Dearka.

"Maybe… but let's just see what happens next before that." Dearka replied.

"Flay, answer us sincerely, okay? The first question is… if it's true that the prince and princess are both missing, where are they now?" Rey started.

"I don't know." she answered plainly.

"Really?" he added.

Flay looked at Nicol again before answering, "When they went missing, I came here."

Her answer didn't satisfy any of them but they went on.

"Next, the other day while you were talking to Rau about the bouquet, you said you were gonna die. What did you mean by that?" Yzak asked.

Flay looked down, then back at him. "Because I know they're after me."

"They?" Shinn joined in.

"The enemy." she said.

Yzak felt there were more she's not saying which irritated him. "Who's the enemy?"

"I'm not sure." Flay said looking down.

"What? How could you be unsure?" Yzak almost yelled but Dearka prevented him.

"So, who is 'him' that Mir was talking about?" Dearka asked.

"My stalker, the one Uncle Rau mentioned." she said.

"You mean, Azrael?" Rey mentioned.

Flay nodded and her face changed its expression to a worried one which got Nicol's attention.

"What was that mission that you mentioned yesterday?" Nicol asked trying to change the topic, the other four looked at him.

Flay turned her head to him, "They said if I do the 'mission', they would nullify my engagement."

"What?" Dearka reacted and looked at Nicol.

"Who's 'they'?" Shinn asked.

"I can't say." She said, shaking her head.

Her answer stunned them all especially, Nicol. Now, they believe everything she said before and refuse to ask more about 'that'.

"So… if you were here for protection and a mission, why bring along Mir and Stella?" Dearka asked.

"They can serve as my excuse for 'if something goes wrong' or if father finds out." she answered plainly.

This got them to believe her more because it sounds so true and she was being very convincing. After a few moments, Nicol asked the question that's been in his mind since the day he first saw her.

"Why do you always were black or something dark?" he asked.

"Yeah, I mean, Did someone die or something?" Shinn added.

Flay glared at them. "Yes. As a matter of fact, someone did die."

They all stared at her with furrowed eye brows.

"...my hopes and dreams... they were both massacred the night of my engagement." she said mockingly.

Nicol's eye brow twiched, Rey sighed and Yzak tried really hard not to react and just let it pass.

"All right, we'll stop here for now. But if we have any more questions for you, you have to answer all of it as honestly as you can, okay?" Rey demanded.

Flay glared at him with a pout.

"Now, don't look at me like that, I did told you earlier I'd give you something nice, right?" Rey said, handing her the small paper bag he held earlier.

Flay took it and after opening it, her facial expression changed into a really cheerful one. Rey gave her a very expensive signature perfume which she hurriedly sprayed to her wrist and after taking a whiff of it, she became very thankful to Rey, to the point of hugging him. Nicol was just blankly staring at her.

"This was a great idea, Rey." Shinn stated.

"But we still have to be careful around Rau and Gil." Rey said.

"No worries, we can handle that." Dearka assured him.

"Besides, at least now we don't have to worry about her lying to us." Shinn said.

"Yeah, didn't know she was this low." Yzak added.

While they were laughing at how shallow Flay was, they slowly noticed that she was just staring at them all, the whole time. Then, they stopped and waited for what she had to say but she didn't say anything. After a while of staring at them, she looked down at the perfume she was holding and finally she spoke.

"Things don't and can never hurt you… even if the person who gave it does."

Then, she hurriedly dashed out of the room, leaving the boys feeling guilty for what they did, even though, they technically, didn't do anything wrong.

* * *

Lenore gathered everyone at the living room for an announcement. The servants formed a line. From left to right: Arthur, Myrna, Shiho, Luna, Meyrin, Cagalli, Auel, Sting and Kojiro. Lenore stood in front of them with Athrun behind her.

Cagalli was feeling a bit nervous about this, after yelling at Kira and walking out from him last night, she didn't know what to expect and she hadn't seen him since then as well.

Lenore started speaking, "I have an important announcement for all of you. Starting today we'll be very busy for the preparations of the pre-celebration for the Treaty-signing…"

"_The Treaty-signing? Oh, yeah. I almost forgot that I'm staying at the house of the Zalas. Good thing it wasn't about Kira, I wonder whatever happened to him though… oh, well, who cares? As long as he's gone, everything should be fine."_ Cagalli thought.

"…And because we have so much to do and so little time to finish everything, I was lucky enough to bump into a friend who'd be more than willing to assist us with all the preparations…" Lenore continued.

"_No way! Please don't do this to me! Oh, God!"_ Cagalli was pretty much getting the idea of where all of this was going.

"…I'm happy to introduce to all of you, Chris Hibiki. He'll be with us as the organizer of this event and oh, he's also Calla's older brother." Lenore ended as Kira walked in to bow to everyone.

Cagalli was frozen, completely stunned and speechless.

Athrun was just as surprised as everyone else but seeing the reaction on Calla's face, he chose not to comment about any of it.

"What? He's your older brother?" Auel asked.

"I didn't know you had a brother." Luna said.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Meyrin turned to her.

"Ahh… Err… Crap…" was all Cagalli could mutter.

* * *

The bodyguards found out Flay went out of the mansion all by herself so, they decided to split up and look for her. They had to find her before Le Creuset ever knew she went out and missing.

Rey and Shinn went to the direction of the shopping district while Yzak and Dearka went around the tall buildings of the city. Nicol decided to wander off the residence area.

Flay was swinging all by herself at a little park when Nicol found her. He slowly approached her and when he was already standing behind her, he got surprised because Flay knew he was there.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"I want you to come with me so we could go back." he simply answered.

"What are you gonna do if I don't want to go back?" she asked again testing Nicol.

"Then, I'll stay here with you until you change your mind." thinking that he'd marry this girl in the future, Nicol chose to be more patient and understanding.

Flay didn't say anything else and they just kept quiet, Nicol standing behind her. After a little while, Flay asked him a question all of a sudden, which kinda caught Nicol of guard.

"Would you believe me even if I lie?" she asked.

"Do I have a choice?" he replied which made Flay giggle a little.

"Can you promise me that you'll always take my side on anything?" she asked another awkward question.

Nicol felt weird but he didn't mind, thinking he's finally getting on her good side. "As long as, you won't get me fired."

His witty answers kept making Flay giggle in delight.

"How old are you?"she asked out of curiosity.

"I'm fifteen." he answered straight.

Flay faked a gasp. "Really? When's your birthday?"

"March 1." he replied and Flay giggled so, he asked. "Something wrong?"

"No, nothing. Up to now, I just thought you were younger than me." she said still giggling to herself. "but now, I know that I'm exactly 14 days younger than you. My birthday being March 15, by the way." she said with a smile.

After a few moments, Flay suddenly looked back at him and said, "You know what? I like your eyes, they're sincere and true… It's been a long time since I last saw eyes like that."

Unexpectedly, this statement of hers made Nicol blush. She sounded so honest about it that he just couldn't help believing her, of course, he still hasn't let go of his doubts.

Then, she said. "Before we go back… there's somewhere I wanna go to first. Come with me."

* * *

Everyone was assigned their own chores for the preparations. Myrna and Shiho were told to take care of the catering; Luna, Meyrin and Cagalli were the ones taking care of the decorations for the Grand Ballroom and set-ups there; Auel, Sting and Kojiro took charge of the other menial tasks; and Arthur assisted Kira with managing all preparations, Athrun helped along.

While Athrun was working with Chris, he easily learned that he was, if not a bit different, completely opposite to Calla. For some reason, this fact kinda made him more interested in the two. Although, he can see from a distance how Calla shots glares at Chris every once in a while, when she gets the chance, he only thought of it as funny and amusing. Athrun didn't know what it was like to have a brother or a sister so, he was very much intrigued about the relationship of the two.

The Treaty-signing is in less than two weeks, right now, Kira just wants to focus on convincing Cagalli to go back with him. Also, he wants to know what got his sister into making a decision as drastic as running away in the first place. In addition to that, he still hasn't figured out why Flay lied to him and what she's up to here in the Plants. Kira could only sigh as the thoughts of the things he had to face entered his mind but then again, can he really blame them?

And Cagalli, all she thought of the whole time, is how she's gonna get rid of Kira or how she's gonna get away from all the troubles she's gotten herself into. If she goes back now, all of her efforts will be wasted and every hard work she's done so far will be useless. Working as a maid isn't really a walk in the park but compared to having been forced to live a life upon the plans of the people around you, well, Cagalli's made up her mind not to go back.

While all of them where lost in their own worlds, they didn't notice Lenore got up to answer the door to welcome her sudden visitors.

Upon hearing the unexpected arrival of visitors, Athrun decided to take a look at whom were they and to his complete shock, it was Flay and Nicol.

"Good evening, Miss Lenore. Pardon us for coming so sudden." Flay greeted with a bow.

"Good evening to you too, Flay. I was already kinda wondering when you'll finally visit me." Lenore replied.

Then, Flay noticed Athrun standing dumbfounded, behind his mother. "Well, what do you know? Looks like you're feeling a lot better now, Athrun." Flay smirked.

"Yes and it's all thanks to you." He said with a sarcastic tone. Then he turned to nod at Nicol.

Nicol smiled at him in return.

Just then, while they were starting to have small chats, Cagalli came out chasing after Mimi who messed up some decors in the table. At first, she didn't notice Flay at all but when Flay saw Cagalli wearing a maid outfit and her hair in pigtails, Flay bursted out laughing without a warning.

Flay laughed so hard, she fell and sat on the floor holding her stomach. Nicol and Athrun were just staring at her while Lenore couldn't help but giggle at Flay's reaction. And Cagalli, she had a tight fist, showing it to Flay but Flay didn't even flinch.

"What the hell is so funny?" Athrun said, looking at his giggling mother, he felt disturbed and confused.

"Uhmm, Flay…" Nicol was in great wonder as he kneeled down beside Flay.

Still, Flay continued laughing her head off and just when they thought she'll never stop, Kira came walking in towards Cagalli's back. And at the sight of him, Flay instantly ceased laughing. She was in great shock upon seeing Kira there, a sweat drop rolled down from her forehead.

Feeling the presence of her brother behind her and seeing the quick change in the expression of Flay's face, Cagalli smirked.

Flay muttered. "Crap…"

* * *

Please Review! It's the only way I know how many people have read this. Help me make it better. I'm open to comments, questions, suggestions, anything as long as you review it.

No flames, please respect that this is my Fic. Thank you!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


	8. The First Kiss

Chapter 8! Thanks for the reviews!

I've been thinking for a couple of chapters now. I want to change the title of this Fic! But I won't edit the other chapters yet, not until I finish this. I've been so inspired by this certain song and because of it, I came up with such an ending. Yes, it's near! But I will do my best to stretch this for a few more chapters, though I doubt if it'll reach 20, I really don't wanna go further than that.

Anyway, from this moment on, **"Cagalli is a Maid!" **will be changed into **"Sweet Serendipity" **(*super evil laugh*)

Actually, I only used the title 'Cagalli is a maid!' because I can't come up with a better one at that time but now I do and yes, the song that kept on inspiring me and made a way for the ending of this Fic is 'Sweet Serendipity' by Lee Dewyze. If you listen to that song, you will pretty much guess what the ending will be... probably. Lolx!

Read on with open minds, people. Thank you!

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 8: The First Kiss**

Flay ran towards Mir's room, completely ignoring the upset Rey, angry Yzak, pissed Shinn, and disturbed Dearka. She ran pass all of the four exhausted bodyguards with Nicol running after her.

"hey! wait!" Yzak yelled.

"where the hell did you come from? we were all so worried!" Rey shouted.

But she didn't answer. Instead, she barged inside Mir's room which startled Stella, but Mir remained calm with her face stuck in reading a magazine. The bodyguards all followed inside.

"Traitor!" Flay screamed. "Traitor! Traitor! Traitor! Traitor! Traitor!" she chanted continuously, until Mir glared at her.

"you know already? that was fast." Mir said turning her head back at the magazine.

"how could you betray me like this? I thought you were my friend." Flay accused.

"well, I'm also their friend, in case you forgot." Mir smirked.

"thanks to you! I completely humiliated myself in front of 'him'!" she yelled.

"you really like him that much?" Mir raised an eye brow.

"Hell no, of course not! but it's still embarrassing!" she defended.

"oh, please... cut the drama, all of this was your fault to begin with anyway." looked back at the magazine.

"go to hell!" Flay yelled at her face.

"what? he told me to not tell you first." she reasoned.

"still, you could've at least, given me the 'heads up'!" she tried concerning her.

"why would I do that?" Mir was apparently annoyed.

"Mir! I know I may be rude and noisy—" she started.

Mir cut her off. "you know that?"

"—let me finish! I know I may be rude and noisy at times but you, of all people, should know that I won't really do anything bad to harm anyone..." Flay explained herself. "Don't you trust me?"

"well, I used to... until I heard Stella and I were only mere excuses for 'if something goes wrong'." she knows.

"you heard that huh?" Flay felt a little nervous.

"loud and clear." she stated.

"okay! fine! I'll come clean... I'm setting them up!" Flay was finally telling some truth.

"the twins?" she asked.

"yes—I mean no, they're siblings, that's crazy." she answered.

"no, I meant with others of course." Mir clarified.

"well, yes exactly." she said.

"but with whom?" Mir was still a bit unsure.

"duh! fill in the blanks!" Flay tried to give a hint but was careful to not let the guys figure it out.

"now, why would you come up with something like this?" Mir asked again, raising an eye brow.

"figure it out yourself." Flay was done giving away hints.

Mir thought about it for a while then...

"no." Mir realized what's really going on.

"yes." Flay smirked.

"no way!" Mir couldn't believe it.

"yes way!" Flay assured her.

"Oh my God! since when?" she tried making other things clear.

"my engagement party." she said.

"Holy Crap! why didn't you say so? you sly fox!" Mir was starting to regret telling Kira.

"I have my reasons." she answered plainly.

"okay. well, come to think of it, things will still go smoothly even after what I did, right?" Mir didn't want to ruin it anymore.

"yes, but we can never be too careful." Flay said.

"Damn it! you are such a sneaky little devil!" Mir still hasn't gotten over the revelation.

"I'll take that as a compliment. So... are we good?" Flay straighten things up.

Mir looked at Stella. "Count us in!"

All the guys were just left dumbfounded.

* * *

Cagalli was laughing her head off, hanging onto Kira for balance. Athrun was smiling in great wonder as to what happened and Lenore decided to avoid confrontations, just in case they ask, she doesn't wanna be there.

"did you see the expression on her face? it was as if she's seen a ghost!" Cagalli was in ecstasy.

"you're really enjoying this, aren't you?" Kira asked her.

"of course! it's my turn to laugh now!" she said as she held her stomach.

"so... what's going on?" Athrun asked hoping to get a decent answer.

"well... let's just say, Calla, Flay and I are really close friends." Kira answered.

"then, why was she so surprised?" Athrun followed.

"I think, she didn't expect to see Ki—I mean, Chris here like this." Cagalli finally relieved herself.

"oh, I see... but are you really friends with her?" he was curious.

"yes, of course we are. although, sometimes we may not act like it at all." Kira answered.

"how did you know her, by the way?" Cagalli changed the topic.

"well... she was the one who got me dismissed from my job." Athrun hesitated at first.

"she was the one who took you out?" Cagalli was surprised.

"yes." he answered briefly.

"why would she do that?" Kira asked him, trying to figure out what he knows.

"I'm not really sure... I think it's because I got sick or maybe she just doesn't like me or... I think there's something else." Athrun was only making guesses.

Kira's facial expression changed into a serious one, _'well, he's definitely not the stupid type.' _he thought.

* * *

"wait... what's in it for you?" Mir asked Flay.

"well... they said they would nullify my engagement." Flay looked away.

"what? are you crazy?" Mir bursted.

Flay stayed silent.

"Flay..." Mir sighed, "look, do you really believe that they would call off the whole thing just because you're gonna do this?" she asked, trying to make things clearer.

Flay looked back, "yes, because even Romina promised me that."

at this statement, the guys were shocked. Dearka, Yzak and Shinn looked at Nicol.

"that's impossible." Rey interrupted, which earned him a glare from Flay.

"no, it's not. she really did promise me that!" Flay defended.

"are you sure?" Mir was hoping to get more out of her.

"well, actually... Romina said that she would agree to the call off if I still want to call it off by the time of the Treaty-signing." she explained.

Mir raised an eye brow.

"it was as if, she's thinking that I would fall head over heels in love at first sight with her son!" Flay was already yelling.

Dearka and Shinn chuckled. Nicol dropped a sweat.

"...so after this mission, I am definitely calling it off! No matter what happens! even if he's the last guy on _Earth_! I will never—wait... let me get back to you on that." putting her hand under her chin, Flay went into thinking position.

Stella looked at Mir and suddenly spoke, "but... he's here in the _Plants, _isn't he?."

Dearka whispered, "you know, she has a point." Shinn chuckled.

Mir muttered to herself. "I hate these antics..."

* * *

The next day, Cagalli was asked to help Myrna do the laundry. Myrna had so much in her hands that she just couldn't say no. Myrna was the one who did the actual washing and Cagalli was only told to hang the sheets in the rooftop.

Cagalli did as she was told, the carrying of the laundry to the rooftop was a little hard but fortunately, she managed to carry it all through a little struggle. After hanging up all the sheets, Cagalli thought to rest for a while.

The view from the rooftop was breath-taking. With all the plain white sheets swiftly dancing in the breeze, she couldn't help but look up. Of course, she didn't see a sky because she was inside the Plants and they don't have that there. Instead, she saw the tall elevator extending up to the top of the Plants and a wide solar furnace where all the light comes from, with a few artificial clouds floating by.

_'I thought so, the Plants is different from Earth... from Orb.'_ she thought to herself.

She decided to sit and then, lie. She remembered how she would normally spent a lazy day after escaping from the palace. She would go to the valley, run as fast as she can, as if she's running away from it all, as if she could.

It felt great. To be free, to not be bound by anything, to be able to do just about anything, to be herself.

To feel your feet on the ground, on the grass, on the sand. Suddenly, Cagalli missed the sea, she loved it so much. She also loves the sky, the rising and setting of the sun. How it all looked like from Earth, was a view worth a moment of your life.

* * *

It was early in the morning and the bodyguards were having breakfast before reporting for duty. Yzak was sitting in the middle of Dearka and Shinn, Rey and Nicol were sitting in front of them.

"hey guys, whatever happened to Commander Le Creuset?" Shinn asked while playing with his food.

"yeah, come to think of it, haven't seen him around in a while." Nicol added.

"who knows? the man just disappeared without a trace after leaving his niece to us..." Dearka answered.

"damn it! he's probably having a grand vacation right now!" Yzak snapped.

Nicol and Rey looked at each other and sighed in unison.

Moments later, they were alerted by a gunshot coming from the garden. Shinn fell from his seat and hurriedly got up to run out along with the others. When they got there, they saw Flay, Mir and Stella.

Mir and Stella were sitting near the porch, having breakfast. And Flay was holding a gun, shooting off red roses from a big bouquet. They were all stunned.

"what the hell do you think you're doing?" Nicol approached Flay.

"what's it look like I'm doing?" she answered without looking back, shooting another rose.

seeing another bloom popped, petals scattered everywhere, he said. "are you crazy or something?" Nicol was easily running out of patience, probably due to shock.

Flay then looked at him with intense fierceness in her eyes. "I hate flowers, they're completely useless... Especially red roses, they make other flowers look so ugly." then she went off, leaving her gun at the breakfast table where Mir and Stella were seated.

Nicol was stunned and left standing there. "just when I thought I was already on her good side." he mumbled to himself.

"that bouquet was sent by her stalker." Mir said out of the blue, gathering all of their attention. "don't worry, she'll be fine later."

Stella put her tea cup down and said, "we need to get ready."

* * *

Athrun was walking along the hallway, looking for Cagalli. He was wondering why she wasn't the one who served him breakfast when he has already made her his personal maid. Of course, he can't complain, knowing that he has to look out for her brother now. It's not like he was thinking that Kira would kill him but he doesn't want to aggravate him either.

then, he saw Meyrin exit a room. "Hey, Meyrin. do you know where Calla is?" he asked her.

"Uhmm, Calla is helping out with the laundry sir, she must be at the rooftop hanging clothes by now." she replied with a smile, knowing the master is starting to develop serious interest in her friend.

"thank you." Athrun smiled, then went off.

Athrun rushed to the rooftop, he really wanted to see her so bad. It's not like they were separated or anything but he wanted to have all the time in the world for her, only her.

When he got there, he was greeted by the waving sheets. As he walked around the corner he saw a figure lying on the ground, he instantly panicked and ran to Cagalli.

"Calla, are you all right?" he asked as he kneeled down close to her.

still not opening her eyes, she spoke. "I'm fine."

Athrun was relieved, "what are you doing?" he asked, now sitting beside her.

Cagalli didn't reply at first, instead she opened her eyes and after a little squint, she looked at him. She was just staring blankly at him and he stared back in great wonder of her.

after a while, she said. "come here... lie next to me."

Athrun blinked twice before obeying her whim. He lied down next to her there and felt a little different. He has never done something quite like this before.

"have you ever been to Earth?" she asked out of the blue.

"well, yes. A couple of times already but it didn't take long." he answered.

"the sky from Earth is different... it's real." she commented.

Athrun felt uncomfortable with her words, it's as if she's saying that she wants to go back. He was instantly saddened by the thought.

"do you want to go back?" he asked her, hoping to get a 'no'.

But she didn't answer, she didn't know what to say, she didn't want to think about it. All of a sudden, Athrun sat up, leaned over and kissed her. Cagalli was shocked at first but she didn't want to push him off either, so she just decided to hold still and closed her eyes.

Athrun's kiss started soft and gentle, his lips nibbling a little on hers, their warm breaths hitting each others' burning red faces. It was deep and very passionate. Together, they got lost within their sensations and they stayed like that for a couple more moments.

Getting a bit carried away, Athrun slowly slid down his tongue, pass Cagalli's lips, entering her mouth. Cagalli stiffened because of this action but she would not protest. To think that it was her first kiss! He just had to use his tongue!

After savoring each others taste, they parted for breath, both of them panting. But Athrun never got off her, instead he stayed in his position on top, they stared and continued breathing in each others' flushed out faces, letting the feeling linger for a little while longer. Then, he kissed her again and they didn't want to stop. (—no, wait. _I_ don't want them to stop. *evil laugh*)

* * *

Meyrin was running crazy through the hallways, screaming at the top of her lungs. She entered the kitchen still screaming which got everyone's attention of course.

"what? what's wrong?" Luna asked in panic.

"what the hell?" Sting raised an eye brow.

Meyrin took a deep breather first before yelling loud. "MASTER ATHRUN KISSED CALLA!" then she held her face and squirmed.

"oh my God! really?" Shiho shouted.

"no way!" Auel bursted.

"well, that sure is worth the scream." Sting commented with a smirk.

"did you take a picture? you should've taken a picture!" Luna went to her face.

"but I didn't have my phone... why didn't I bring my phone?" Meyrin scolded herself.

Outside the kitchen, Kira was listening.

he mumbled, "this is going to be more complicated than I thought..."

* * *

Please Review! It's the only way I know how many people have read this. Help me make it better. I'm open to comments, questions, suggestions, anything as long as you review it.

No flames, please respect that this is my Fic. Thank you!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


	9. Cat And Dog Fights

Chapter 9! Thanks for the reviews!

empatheticsympatheticpathetic: that was a mistake! thank you so much for correcting me! I editted it as soon as I read your review and sorry for that, my bad. About your guess... No Comment! Lolx!

Read on with open minds, people. Thank you!

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 9: Cat And Dog Fights**

The five bodyguards entered Flay's room with Mir and Stella following them. Flay was back in her chair near the balcony, in her bored posture like how she used to. At first, they didn't know what to say and none of them wanted to take the initiative. Fortunately, Mir and Stella were there, they were the ones who made the move.

"We should get ready now and brace ourselves for what may come, the Treaty-signing will be held in only a week from today... and as we speak, pre-celebrations for that are already being prepared for by now, not just here in the Plants but in Earth as well." Mir stated.

"Also, we need to get back to Earth at least two days before the main event." Stella added.

"Flay...?" Mir called.

"There will be a pre-celebration party held in the Zala estate, three days from now and we are all invited..." Flay looked back. "...including you guys. Also, I've called Uncle Rau and talked to him to give all of you guys day-offs for that party, so you don't have to look after me while we're there." Flay was talking with an unusually calm voice which kinda gave some of the guys a weird feeling.

"I see." Rey responded.

"So... what are we gonna do with that mission of yours?" Mir asked.

"I'll proceed with that in my own time, there's no need to rush." she answered.

"So... can you at least tell us what that mission is all about?" Shinn asked.

"No, but you will figure it all out in time." Flay said.

"Come on, even just a little hint." Rey insisted.

Flay stared at them. "Fine, I'll tell you the title of the plan..." she paused.

"Operation Destiny."

* * *

Athrun was leaning onto the railings of the rooftop, sitting on the side as Cagalli was resting her head on his shoulders. Both of them never spoke after the kisses, they decided to let their actions speak for them and remained in silence. For quite some time they watched the sheets get blown away by the gentle breeze, everything was so peaceful and serene. It was also such a warm lazy day, the kind of day when you don't want to move and just want to remain lousy.

Suddenly, Athrun remembered why he was looking for Calla in the first place.

"the party is in three days..." he said with a soft tone, "the caterers will take care of everything, so all of the servants will be free for the celebration... I was thinking... would you mind coming with me as my date for that?" he asked with a blush, looking away.

"I don't mind at all but... are you sure we're even allowed to be there?" Cagalli answered.

"Of course. Besides, mom likes you so much she'll probably let you do anything anyway." he assured her.

Cagalli giggled. "but wait, I don't think I have dress for a formal occasion like that."

"then, we'll just visit Aisha again and I'm pretty sure she's invited so, there should be no problem." he said.

"thanks... by the way, I've always wondered what your first impression of me was..." she said.

"well... it can't possibly be love at first sight because the first sight was... a foot." they both laughed.

"I'm really sorry for that." she said in between giggles.

"no, it's okay. that was a pretty funny and unforgettable experience, and my first impression of you was... definitely not normal." he chuckled.

"normal is boring!" she defended.

"hmmm... I guess... so, what was your first impression of me?" he asked back at her question.

"let's see... you were a stepping stone!" she laughed hard and Athrun just raised an eye brow on her. "just kidding! well, you were pretty cool... but that's it." then she laughed more.

"yes, laugh it all up while you still can... you are forgetting that I still have the power to make you do whatever I want, right?" he playfully threatened her.

"whatever! and mind you that my brother is here now, so things have changed!" she fought back.

Athrun's face soured, indeed he has to look out for her brother now. Cagalli noticed the fast change in his expression and felt kinda guilty so she did the only thing she knew that would cheer him up instantly, she kissed him on the cheeks. Athrun flushed out in surprise, just then they heard a familiar voice.

"well, isn't that cute?" Kira was leaning by the door frame of the stairs, he smirked when Athrun and Cagalli noticed him. "we are all so busy down there and here you two are... making out."

* * *

"it's going to be difficult for the eight of us to move around freely if we stay together like this, we should split up." Mir suggested as they were already making preparations for the mission.

"sure thing. Flay, you should be the one to divide us." Rey said as she turned to Flay.

"All right. I'll take... Rey, Yzak and Nicky." Flay said firmly.

"what did you call me?" Nicol asked in sudden irritation. Dearka and Shinn chuckled.

"I want to call you 'Nicky' so that's what I'm calling you!" Flay's voice was starting to rise.

"but that sounded like a girl's name!" he protested.

"who cares? you look like a girl anyway!" she glared.

Nicol just stood there in mixed emotions of irritation and shock at what he's heard. Dearka, Yzak and Shinn bursted out laughing. Mir and Stella giggled while Rey chuckled.

After a while, Nicol sighed in defeat. Rey decided to sympathize with Nicol by changing the topic.

"Uhmm, I kinda understood why you picked me, but... why pick Yzak and Nick?" Rey asked.

"because Nicky looks pathetic, we could use his face in case we get into trouble and Yzak looks scary so we may have a use for that too." she smirked.

"what?" Yzak and Nicol snapped in unison.

"that's actually true!" Dearka teased which earned him a hit from Yzak and Shinn was just laughing.

Rey sighed. "maybe I shouldn't have asked." he said to himself.

"you think?" Yzak glared at him.

"by the way guys, we're going to visit Lenore again. I didn't have a decent word with her because of what happened last night, which is all thanks to Mir." Flay said while glaring at Mir.

"what? I did what I had to do..." Mir defended.

Flay just replied with a "humph!"

* * *

Kira asked to have a word with Cagalli in private, so Athrun quickly left the two of them alone.

"sorry if I interrupted your little lovey-dovey session... I just thought someone should snap the you of two back to reality because we still have so much to do... In any case, there is only one week left before the Treaty-signing... how long do you plan to dawdle around here?" Kira asked his sister while looking over the rooftop, his elbows resting on the railings.

"what are you talking about? 'that' does not concern me anymore." she braced herself for another argument.

Kira glanced at Cagalli with only his eyes, head stayed still, then he stared back at the great view. "let me guess... he asked you to be his date."

"what's it to you?" Cagalli glared at him.

Kira sighed. "sis... they're coming..."

Cagalli was a bit stunned. "what?"

"they're coming." he repeated, this time with a stern tone.

"—wait, here?" she asked in a bit of panic.

"don't worry, everything should be fine... as long as you're not Princess Cagalli that is." Kira moved away from the railings and went to the direction of the stairs. "by the way," he looked back. "didn't know maid outfits and pigtails suit you, I'll remember that when we get back home." he teased.

"I'm not going back!" she yelled as he turned back and went off.

* * *

Flay just arrived in the Zala estate with Rey, Yzak and Nicol. After escorting Flay to Lenore's room, Arthur went to inform Athrun about the sudden visit of his teammates. Athrun then, hurried to the living room where his friends were told to wait.

"Hey guys, long time no see." Athrun greeted them as he entered the door.

"hey, Athrun." Nicol waved.

"what? you're still alive?" Yzak scoffed.

"yes and is that so unfortunate for you?" he answered then he turned to Rey. "so... you must be my replacement?"

"yeah, kinda." Rey chuckled.

then, Yzak want behind Athrun and whispered. "by the way, just so you know, Nicol is using a pseudonym right now, so don't call him 'Nicol' instead, call him 'Nick', understood?"

"sure... but why?" he got curious.

"just do it!" this time Yzak yelled in his ear.

"fine." Athrun sighed.

After a little while, Kira came in with their drinks and served them.

"Master Athrun, if I'm not mistaken, Flay should be with your guests, right?" he asked.

"Ahh, yeah... but she's talking with mom right now." Athrun answered.

"I see." Kira went towards the door.

"excuse me, but do you know Flay?" Nicol asked out of the blue, Kira looked back at him.

"yeah, Chris here happens to be a good friend of Flay." Athrun was the one who answered.

"really?" Rey commented.

"yes. As a matter of fact, we've known each other practically since birth." Kira said with an uncertain smile.

"well, that's some coincidence." Yzak mumbled, looking at Nicol.

"yeah, what are the chances...?" Rey commented.

"are you really just a butler?" Nicol asked, how would a mere butler know someone of great status as Flay? She isn't that humble to befriend commoners.

"are you really just a bodyguard?" Kira smirked knowingly and that shut Nicol up.

Athrun was starting to sense some bad feeling. "so... do you mind telling us some stuff about her?"

"what do you want to know?" Kira replied.

Athrun, Yzak, Rey and Nicol all looked at one another.

* * *

Mir, Stella, Shinn and Dearka were left back at Le Creuset's mansion.

"so... what do we do now?" Shinn broke the ice.

"yeah, we can't just stay here while they're off somewhere, right?" Dearka added.

Mir stared at the two guys before saying. "then, let's all go out and have fun."

Dearka and Shinn smiled at each other.

"but where are we suppose to go? any ideas?" Mir asked the guys.

"wanna go to the amusement park... or maybe the mall?" Dearka suggested.

"well, we've been to the mall for many instances now..." Mir replied.

"it's the amusement park, then!" Shinn rejoiced.

"sure, let's go there!" Mir cheered.

out of the blue, Stella asked. "does this mean, we have to buy nice things for Flay again?"

* * *

"so... how'd it go for the two of you?" Auel went straight to Cagalli's face when she entered the kitchen.

"yeah! you have to tell us everything! even down to the tiniest detail!" Meyrin jumped in.

"so, was he a good kisser?" Luna just had to ask.

"did he use his tongue?" Meyrin was overly crossing the line.

"I didn't know Master Athrun was that aggressive." Shiho commented.

Cagalli was being bombarded by questions, she just didn't know which and what to answer first.

"what's the matter? he got your tongue?" Sting teased.

Cagalli flushed bright red at this statement that she just bursted out. "how the hell did you guys knew about that in the first place?"

"we have our ways..." Auel grinned.

"tell us already!" Meyrin yelled at her face.

"all right, fine!" pushing Meyrin off. "to tell you the truth, I actually didn't know how all that happened but since it did, I might as well tell you. Noone values privacy here anyway." she sighed as they turned all ears to hear her story.

Just then, Flay's talk with Lenore had ended. She decided that she wanted to see both Cagalli and Kira so she went to the direction of the kitchen, while nearing, she overheard Cagalli's storytelling, instinctively she eavesdropped.

Cagalli was already getting carried away by her own story by that time. "...suddenly, there he was! sucking my throat out!—"

"oh, you poor creature!" Flay cut her off there. (Familiar? That was a dialogue in 'That 70's show'...XD)

they all looked back and Flay was standing by the door frame, her arms crossed.

Cagalli quickly stood up. "what the hell are you doing here?"

* * *

"Cinderella's Fairy God Mother, no matter how kind she may seem to be... is still a witch." Kira stated.

"what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Yzak got a bit irritated.

"I really don't know, just occurred to me." Kira smiled.

"are you seriously suggesting that?" Yzak almost went to Kira's face, Nicol got really confused.

"well, yes. Flay is not really a heartless beast that you all seem to think she is... she's actually a great person. However, there's a catch to that... you have to win her over first." Kira tried his hardest to convince them.

"but even if that's true..." Athrun was stopped by two very familiar voices yelling at each other.

then, they went to the balcony. They saw Flay and Cagalli bickering but unfortunately, the two were a bit far for them to hear anything.

"I should go now." with that said, Kira dashed out of the room.

A little while later, they saw Kira running towards Flay and Cagalli. He got inbetween the two and the three of them went to the faces of one another.

"I wonder what's going on?" Nicol muttered.

"who is that blonde girl?" Yzak asked.

"that's Calla, Chris' younger sister." Athrun answered.

"do you think Chris and Calla have something to do with that mission, Flay was talking about?" Rey turned to Nicol and Yzak.

"who knows?" Yzak shrugged.

"what mission?" Athrun asked.

"oh, that's nothing... nothing which concerns you, anyway." Yzak said, narrowing his eyes on Athrun.

Meanwhile.

"Enough already!" Kira shouted. "If you two want to kill each other by bombing away circumstances, then just get it over with! The Treaty-signing is only a week away from now! Both of you will be going home by then, engaged!"

"No way!" Cagalli and Flay yelled back in unison.

"Fine. If you two don't want to go back home that bad, then I'll just let you two stay here and do whatever you want with your lives! But don't come crying to me when Yuuna and Azrael get here." with that, Kira turned to his back and walked away.

Cagalli turned to Flay, "tell me, just exactly what are you planning?"

"why would you like to know?" Flay grinned.

"Flay!" Cagalli yelled again.

"don't worry, whatever it is, I assure you that it has absolutely nothing to do with you." Flay was obviously lying.

* * *

I know, this chapter is a little dry but I assure you the next one will be on fire.

Here's a little hint, more catfights!

Please Review! It's the only way I know how many people have read this. Help me make it better. I'm open to comments, questions, suggestions, anything as long as you review it.

No flames, please respect that this is my Fic. Thank you!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


	10. Seeping Secrets

Chapter 10! Thanks for the reviews!

CagsZala: you misunderstood, Yuuna and Azrael are both Stalkers! they are NOT the fiancés. Let me explain, where I came from, we have this strict understanding that whenever a cute guy courts you and he passed 'the criteria' with a 'thumbs up' then, we'll label him as an 'Admirer' but if he failed and got a 'thumbs down' then, he's a 'Stalker'.

for example:

Athrun + 'thumbs up' = 'Admirer'.

Azrael and Yuuna + 'thumbs down' = 'Stalkers'! (*evil laugh!*)

Let us apply that here in this fic.

littlemsstrawberry: Back on Orb Kira always help Cagalli and Flay to get away from Yuuna and Azrael, they owe Kira a lot and Kira only mentioned the two bastards because Cagalli and Flay won't listen to him.

Read on with open minds, people. Thank you!

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 10: Seeping Secrets**

After cooling away the tension, all of them finally, were able to settle down to have a decent conversation in the living room. Cagalli sat beside Athrun, across them was Flay with Nicol, Rey and Yzak standing on the side.

"so, what's going on?" Athrun tried to break the silence because Cagalli and Flay did nothing but glare at each other since they entered.

"this has nothing to do with you, Athrun. get lost!" Flay glared.

"need I remind you that you're in my house?" Athrun tried to stand his ground.

"no, she's right Athrun. don't get yourself involve in this." Cagalli looked at Athrun with furrowed eye brows as if begging him to not meddle, she knew better than to let Athrun figure out who she really is, even if she had feelings for the guy.

"you do know, I'm trying to side on you, right?" Athrun was deeply concerned.

"yes and I really appreciate that but this is my fight." Cagalli said, glaring back at Flay.

"well, if that isn't the cutest thing, I don't know what is." Flay commented with a sarcastic tone.

"shut up! I can't believe you even have the time to waste here, shouldn't you go back to Earth to prepare for the upcoming Treaty-signing? after all, you are included in the line-up of engagements, right? or maybe your already here to visit your fiancé and future parents-in-law?" Cagalli smirked.

at this statement, Flay eye brow twitched and Nicol noticed it, the other guys looked at him.

Flay giggled. "well, actually... I'm here to make sure my engagement is nullified."

"what?" Cagalli stood in shock, surprising Athrun and the guys with her reaction.

"Calla?" Athrun mumbled.

"that's crazy! do you have any idea of what kind of effect it will have onto the Treaty-signing?" Cagalli yelled, completely ignoring Athrun.

Flay grinned. "and why should you care?"

Cagalli was stunned. She didn't know what to say, how should she explain herself with Athrun around. Furthermore, did she even have the right to react? She ran away!

Cagalli felt helpless, she couldn't say anything. She ended up just biting her lower lip in irritation as a sweat drop rolled down from her forehead.

Flay, on the other hand, was enjoying this but she won't let Cagalli reach her limit just yet, the operation is just getting started and she doesn't have any plans of screwing it up. She knew if she pushed further, Cagalli might start saying things she shouldn't say and that would certainly ruin her plans, so she decided to put Cagalli to ease but she's gonna make sure Cagalli doesn't forget this.

"listen up. The prince and princess of Orb are both missing..." Flay started.

"what?" Athrun was surprised.

Cagalli gulped.

"...they say the princess was kidnapped, but no one really knows for sure, while the prince was just... gone. With the two of them out of the picture, it wouldn't much matter if all the other engagements were still in tact, right? so whatever I do for now, will be fine." Flay continued with a smirk.

* * *

Mir and Stella were walking in front of Dearka and Shinn, they were on their way to the amusement park.

Shinn whispered to Dearka. "hey, doesn't this look like... you know, a double date."

"what the hell are you talking about? even if we're wearing civilian clothes right now, we're still just their bodyguards." he whispered back.

"you mean, you're not planning on doing anything? I thought you liked Mir?" Shinn urged him.

Dearka paused. "hmmm, maybe I will make my move."

Shinn chuckled. "I knew it."

When they got to the park, they decided to have a look around first before going on any rides.

"so... wanna go inside the haunted house?" Dearka asked Mir while putting his arm around her shoulder.

"you mean, with you?" Mir raised an eye brow.

"of course! I am your bodyguard after all. don't worry, I'll be sure to take real good care of you." a big smile plastered in his face.

"right..." Mir was eying the Dearka's hand.

just then, Stella went to Shinn. "I don't wanna go in there."

Shinn smiled. "let's go ditch them then."

Stella nodded with a bright smile.

* * *

Lacus was making her way into the Zala estate for another visit to Lenore, when she caught a glimpse of a very familiar bird. She followed it, on instinct which led her to the garden. There she saw Kira with his face up, staring blankly at the highest of the Plants.

Kira always wore a peaceful face, although his expression was blank at that time, he still possessed those eyes which seems to always look so far away. Lacus always thought he was the kind of guy who'd be fine and good with everything and anything life brings him. He was always beyond.

Kira was lost in his thoughts. _"Am I overlooking something here? Cagalli and Flay would normally listen to me but how come they have to be so stubborn about this? ...to stay here... wouldn't really be so bad, if only it wasn't..."_

_"Father knew... Miss Lenore knows a lot as well, yet they chose to not do anything... why? what can they be planning...? Even Flay's hiding something..."_ But no matter how thorough he thought of things, he just can't seem to find the answers.

_"Am I just thinking too much...?"_ He took another deep breath and sighed. It was just then when he noticed someone watching him.

"Lacus?" he called out.

she was startled. "Uhmm, Hi." she gave him one of her shy smiles.

Upon seeing her, Kira was reminded and relieved that all the girls in the world weren't like Cagalli and Flay. Lacus was very unlike those two, she was always soft-spoken and polite.

he walked towards her. "you must be here to see Miss Lenore again." he walked pass her."she should be inside her room right now."

then, he looked back. "come on."

Lacus could only nod, and then she followed him.

* * *

"does your father know what your doing?" Cagalli asked in a much calmer manner.

"no. actually, he doesn't even know I'm here." Flay answered just as calm.

"you ran away?" she asked.

"no, I'm not a coward... Besides, I'm already engaged." she smirked.

Cagalli narrowed her eyes and clutched her fists. "what are you gonna do?"

Flay just smiled.

Just then Kira opened the door, he wanted to check up on Cagalli and Flay first before proceeding to Lenore's room to escort Lacus.

"Oh... I see you two are already here." he said, Lacus was following behind him.

"Lacus? you're here again." Athrun commented upon seeing her.

"Hello, Athrun and everyone." Lacus greeted as she bowed.

Cagalli bowed in response and the three bodyguards bowed as well.

"Pink... nice..." Flay suddenly muttered, which didn't go unnoticed by everyone in that room.

That statement kinda brought tension.

"Flay... please don't." Kira warned as his eye brow twitched.

"what? don't tell me your brain didn't scream 'Pink!' when you first saw her?" she said with a sarcastic tone, narrowing her eyes on Kira.

"uhmm, excuse me?" Lacus responded innocently with furrowed eye brows.

Kira looked at Cagalli, "Calla, please take Lacus to Miss Lenore's room." Cagalli quickly stood and showed Lacus out but before they got out of the room, Flay managed to mutter another insult.

"hypocrite."

Then the door closed. Athrun, Nicol, Yzak and Rey were stunned and speechless.

Kira turned to Flay, looking really serious.

"why did you say that?" he asked.

"nothing..." she replied.

"she's not a hypocrite, Flay." he continued.

"I know." she sipped her tea.

Kira sighed, "she's just really like that, just like how you're like that."

"well, I guess humans like her do exist... she is a coordinator after all." Flay was trying to hit Kira's nerve.

"Flay, stop it." Kira was nearing his limit.

Flay chose to stop there for she wants to take her time with the progress of the operation. "what I meant to say was... she was designed like that by her parents, she didn't have much choice, it's not her fault, I don't blame her... better?"

"much." was Kira's reply.

Athrun, Nicol, Yzak and Rey were all amazed by how Kira can make Flay listen.

Meanwhile.

Cagalli was walking with Lacus by her side. Lacus' head was a bit down and Cagalli knew she heard what Flay said, so she decided to make her feel better by talking it out.

"don't mind what she said, that girl is such a snob. I'm Calla, by the way." Cagalli her the cutest smile she could make.

Lacus lifted her head and smiled. "I'm Lacus, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"wow, you're too formal..." Cagalli commented, _"Is she for real? I'm a princess but I don't act like that... maybe it's the environment." _she thought to herself.

* * *

Mir was starting to get seriously annoyed because Dearka won't stop bugging her.

"all right, that's it. Stella let's go home." she turned around and found no Stella and Shinn standing behind them. "Dearka, where's Stella?"

Dearka looked, "hmmm.. now that you mention it, Shinn's not here as well."

"do you think they got lost?" Mir was getting worried.

"that's impossible, I know Shinn could be an idiot at times but he can't possibly get lost when we're in front of them... maybe they went off to give us privacy? or went off to have fun themselves." Dearka was smiling that stupid smile again.

"whatever, let's go look for them." Mir went ahead.

"oh, come on." Dearka whined.

* * *

"I wonder what I have to do to get to her nerves." Flay was thinking out loud.

"Flay, please don't bully her." Kira responded.

"I wonder if she has the capability to get mad." Flay continued, ignoring Kira.

Kira sighed. Then, Cagalli entered the room.

"Flay, cut it out. Lacus is very nice, you know." Cagalli said as she sat back beside Athrun.

"Uh-huh." she smiled.

"anyway, back to where we were. why do you want to nullify your engagement in the first place? you hate the guy that much?" Cagalli was curious. normally, Flay won't dawdle around for nothing.

"not really, I haven't met him yet." Flay answered.

"you haven't met him yet? how could you be engaged to someone you haven't even met yet?" Cagalli asked

"well, if only you went to that party, you would've known... a lot happened there." Kira was the one who answered.

"what do you mean? you were there?" Cagalli didn't know a lot because during those times, she was busy trying to beat Kira's record on a game console.

"yes and you should've been there too." Kira added.

Cagalli nervously laughed.

"so, what happened there?" Athrun asked.

Kira looked at Flay as if figuring out if he should say anything.

"go tell, I don't mind." Flay was expressionless as she sipped her tea.

Kira sighed. "Flay's fiancé never showed up... though his parents were there, he was the one who should've been there."

"woah.. really? he must really hated it." Cagalli commented.

Yzak and Rey glanced at Nicol, he was getting really sweaty.

"and as much as it was painful, Sai offered to escort Flay through the entire night." Kira continued.

"ouch, that's got to hurt." Cagalli said.

"why?" Athrun asked.

"because Sai is a hopeless suitor of Flay..." Cagalli turned to Flay. "I don't even know what that guy sees in you."

"what the hell is that suppose to mean?" Flay reacted.

"anyway, just when we thought things couldn't get any worse... Azrael came..." Kira looked at Flay.

"Holy crap! what happened? I can't believe I missed so much." Cagalli was getting too excited.

"well... he made quite a scene... let's just leave it at that." Kira didn't want to go further.

"so... you blame your fiancé for all that?" Cagalli asked.

"no, of course not. But I don't think I can forgive him for humiliating me to the depths of hell, either." Flay's aura went cold.

"oh, right." Cagalli gave out a nervous laugh.

Nicol gulped.

"but even so, you can't nullify the engagement." with that Kira stood.

"I can do whatever I want, it's my life." Flay was mad now.

"yes, that is true. However, freedom comes with a price and that means, you still have to fulfill your obligations." Kira is not backing down on her.

"don't worry, I know how to take responsibility for my actions." Flay defended.

"I know what you're up to and you're not gonna get away with it." Kira walked towards the door.

realizing that Kira might know something Flay stood. "how much do you know?"

Kira looked back and exchanged glances with Nicol before answering. "enough." then he grinned and went out.

Irritated, Flay took out her cellphone and made a call.

"hello, Mir. change of plans..."

* * *

Please Review! It's the only way I know how many people have read this. Help me make it better. I'm open to comments, questions, suggestions, anything as long as you review it.

No flames, please respect that this is my Fic. Thank you!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


	11. The Calm Before The Storm

Chapter 11! Thanks for the reviews!

littlemsstrawberry: Kira knows a lot... that's all I can say... Lolx!

I know, this is a pretty whacked up story! Almost every character is keeping their own little secret and all of them are lying!

But it's interesting isn't it? otherwise, noone will read it.

Sorry if it's a bit confusing but I assure you that everything will be cleared up in the end. Try keeping track of their lies and the little hints I placed everywhere, things will make sense eventually.

Read on with open minds, people. Thank you!

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 11: The Calm Before The Storm**

It was already dinnertime when Mir, Stella, Dearka and Shinn arrived at the Zala estate. Flay got them to go there to support her in her plans. Flay talked to Lenore again to let all of them stay there for the night and Lenore thought it was a wonderful idea.

Mir was laughing her stomach out at the sight of Cagalli, Stella had a lot of giggles as well.

"what the hell is so freaking funny?" Cagalli was yelling in her face.

"nothing, I just never thought you'd end up like this." she held her stomach.

"laugh it up, Mir. just remember that my name is 'Calla' and Kira is 'Chris', okay?" Cagalli whispered in her ear.

"okay, okay." Mir wiped a tear drop from her eyes.

"After dinner, you guys will all be staying in the biggest guest room, I'll show you there later. For now, let's all go to the dining hall where Miss Lenore, Flay and others are waiting." Kira led the way.

"wow, you look dashing even in a butler uniform." Mir commented.

"thanks, you look great as usual, Mir and you too, Stella." Kira replied.

"thanks." Stella said with a shy smile.

"oh, come on. enough with crap, let's go." Cagalli pushed.

Dearka and Shinn were just staring at Kira the whole time.

* * *

At the dinner table, Lenore sat in the center with Lacus on her right side. Beside Lacus was Athrun, Nicol, Rey and Shinn. In front of them was Flay, Mir, Stella, Dearka and Yzak.

Even if Lenore told Cagalli and Kira that they can join in the dinner table, the twins refused in order to not discriminate themselves from the other servants. Besides, they can't possibly eat in peace knowing that Flay is capable of saying something unpleasant every now and then, they also want to avoid her. However, Cagalli and Kira decided to keep an eye on them, just to be sure Flay won't say anything. As a result, they ended up eavesdropping.

"so... Lacus, don't you want to stay here for the night as well?" it wasn't hard for Flay to start up a conversation with her because Lacus was sitting right in front of her and Lenore was there as well.

"uhmm, I'm not really sure." Lacus was just staring at her plate.

"it will be so much fun if you could join us in our little sleep over, you know." Flay urged.

"that's right, you can have fun and get to know each other well through this." Lenore sided with Flay.

"but it's not necessary so don't push yourself." Athrun tried to protect Lacus from Flay.

"shut up, Athrun." Flay barked at him.

"a little respect, please." Athrun defended.

"don't worry, because Flay's like that, we won't leave you alone with her." Mir assured her.

"but my father might get worried." Lacus reasoned.

"then, I'll call him later and tell him you're staying here with me, I'm sure he won't mind." Lenore added.

"but mom..." Athrun was confused as to why she was taking Flay's side, everyone else wondered as well, especially Nicol.

"well, if that's the case. I guess, I will stay for the night." Lacus was still unsure but she can only hope for the best. Besides, it looked like Flay won't atop unless she agreed.

"great!" Flay cheered.

Kira and Cagalli heard everything, they instantly became worried.

"I don't like this." Cagalli said.

"me too... I wonder why she's so interested in Lacus?" Kira replied.

* * *

Lenore had the biggest guest room arranged with five beds, for Lacus, Flay, Mir, Stella and Cagalli. Cagalli was forced to stay with them because she couldn't leave Lacus with Flay even if Mir and Stella were there. As for the guys, they had a room for themselves as well.

While the girls were getting ready to sleep, Flay went to the guys room, she was already wearing a black nightdress by then.

She barged in without knocking. "Athrun can I have a word with you?"

"you know, you could've knocked." Athrun was startled, all the other guys were surprised as well, maybe because of how she was dressed.

"excluding Calla and Chris, who is the most reliable servant of our age?" she asked, completely ignoring him comment.

"what? what are you talking about?" Athrun didn't get it.

"just answer me, I have an important mission here!" she was starting to get irritated.

Even if she caught all of them off guard, they regained composure and started paying attention.

"well... Meyrin and Luna are such girls and Sting is pretty reliable... but not when Auel's around so, Shiho, I guess." Athrun was still unsure.

"good, make her come here now." Flay ordered.

"for what?" Athrun was curious.

"just do it or I'll torture your precious Calla!" she proclaimed.

"all right, fine. Geez. can't you be nice to me?" Athrun went out frustrated.

Rey approached Flay. "You'll get started now?"

"why else would I insist on staying here?" She answered.

After Shiho arrived, Flay had a private conversation with her, then Shiho went off.

* * *

By the time Flay got back into the girls' room, they were already comfortable and started playing some music, none of them seemed to have any interest in sleeping anymore.

_"good job, Mir. I knew I could count on you."_ she thought as she entered the room.

"Flay, good your back. we were talking earlier and none of us are sleepy yet so, we figured that we can have a sing along!" Mir said while sitting in bed, wearing her orange pajamas.

"that's great! but before that, Calla, why don't you call up your other friends so that they can join us? they deserve to have some fun too, you know." Flay suggested.

Cagalli thought about it and she figured, the more people the less attention Flay will bring upon Lacus so she agreed and called in Luna, Meyrin and Shiho.

After Luna, Meyrin and Shiho arrived, they had a little raffle to see who sings first and it was Stella.

_"Love never fails - Sandy & Junior"_

_There will be those times, we fight back tears_  
_And there will be those times when we get scared_  
_As long as we're together we'll get there_  
_Cause love never fails, Love never fails..._

Kira went to the guys' room and knocked. Athrun was the one who answered.

"what is it, Chris?" he asked.

"I was just wondering... Master Athrun, do you know what Flay said to Shiho?" Kira was a bit worried.

this question got the attention and curiosity of the other guys.

___I have all that I need_  
_So much so I feel weak_  
_'Cause the love that we have's never ending_  
_All the moments we make_  
_Are too precious to waste_  
_In a world that is forever changing_  


In the end, they all decided to eavesdrop and when they got out, they saw Auel and Sting leaning on the girls' door.

"I knew something like this would happen." Athrun chuckled.

"all right guys, move over." Dearka leaned as well.

"make way." Shinn joined in.

___I wouldn't change you for anything_  
_I will be forever loving you_

___There will be those times, we fight back tears_  
_And there will be those times when we get scared_  
_As long as we're together we'll get there_  
_'Cause love never fails. Love never fails..._

"that's Stella singing." Shinn commented as they leaned on the door.

"what? are they having a party or something?" Yzak asked, pushing Dearka down beneath him.

"actually, they normally do this back home." Kira answered.

_There will be those times that test our faith_  
_On some of the roads that we have to take_  
_But I know that we'll always find our way_  
_'Cause love never fails, Love never fails..._

"that was great! Stella." Meyrin cheered.

After Stella, Cagalli pushed Lacus forward. "Your turn, Lacus. good luck! though, I doubt you'll need it."

"Uhmm, thanks." Lacus replied and took a deep breath before she started singing.

_"Ordinary Day - Vanessa Carlton"_

_Just a day, just an ordinary day_  
_Just tryin' to get by_  
_Just a boy, just an ordinary boy_  
_But he was looking to the sky_

"wow, Lacus has a beautiful voice." Rey commented.

"I wonder for whom is she singing that song, it seems to have meaning." Auel said.

"Does she have a boyfriend?" Kira asked.

"I don't think so." Athrun answered.

Just then, the door opened causing them to stumble upon one another. Athrun, Kira and Rey were fast enough to be able to stand while Nicol's face almost hit the floor, Shinn was on top of him. They looked up and there was Flay, she was the one who opened the door.

"H-hello there, F-flay... " Nicol stuttered.

Flay smirked. "If you're gonna listen then, you might as well just come in." with that she walked away, leaving the door open for them.

_And as he asked  
if I would come along_  
_I started to realize_

_That everyday he finds  
just what he's looking for,_  
_Like a shooting star, he shines_

The guys quickly stood up and went inside. Lacus looked really beautiful in her frilly pink nightdress. She smiled at Kira the moment she saw him and he smiled back. This didn't go unnoticed by others of course.

"guess now, we know whom she's singing that for." Dearka muttered out loud, they all looked at Kira who was currently oblivious of the stares.

"I think they'd look good together." Nicol commented.

"yeah, Chris is a great guy." Athrun agreed.

_And he said, take my hand,  
live while you can_

_Don't you see your dreams  
are right in the palm of your hand..._

"they didn't cut eye contact through the entire song." Mir whispered to the girls.

"they're so cute!" Meyrin giggled.

"I agree!" Luna cheered.

"Calla, your up next!" Flay teased.

"your gonna pay for this." Cagalli threatened Flay.

Cagalli stepped forward blushing madly, probably because Athrun was there and she chose a song earlier which she can't change anymore!

Cagalli was wearing a loose white t-shirt with denim shorts. She sighed deep before pointing at Athrun. "Just so you know, Athrun. this song is so not for you!" she yelled and Athrun chuckled.

"right..." Kira narrowed his eyes on Athrun.

_"I'm only me when I'm with you - Taylor Swift"_

_Friday night beneath the stars_  
_In a field behind your yard_  
_You and I are painting pictures in the sky_

"she's actually good." Dearka commented.

"Yeah." Athrun had to agree.

"Calla, you're so cute!" Meyrin cheered as Cagalli blushed even further, she held onto the microphone as if hanging on for her dear life.

"she's squishing the life out of that thing." Shiho giggled.

___And sometimes we don't say a thing_  
_Just listen to the crickets sing_  
_Everything I need is right here by my side_

_And I know everything about you  
__I don't wanna live without you_

Cagalli closed her eyes upon singing that last part, as if forcing courage out of her.

Athrun blushed and smiled upon seeing her expression.

"she's hopeless." Flay commented.

"definitely a goner." Mir added.

_I'm only up when you're not down_  
_Don't wanna fly if your still on the ground_  
_Its like no matter what I do_

_Well, you drive me crazy half the time  
__The other half I'm only trying  
__To let you know that what I feel is true  
__And I'm only me when I'm with you..._

"that was great, Calla!" Meyrin cheered.

"way to go!" Luna joined.

"I think she chose the wrong song, this one is so ironic." Mir whispered to Flay.

"it's fine... for now at least." Flay replied.

"your turn!" Cagalli suddenly appeared and yelled at Flay's face.

"okay, it's time for you girls to be humiliated, I'm the best singer here you know!" she bragged as she jumped on top of the bed and acted as if it was a stage. "attention please, I will sing now."

"whatever!" Cagalli, Kira and Mir yelled in unison.

_"What the hell - Avril Lavigne"_

_You say that I'm messing with your head_  
_All 'cause I was making out with your friends_

"it's a miracle how her taste for songs fit her so well." Rey commented.

"definitely." Shinn agreed.

"it's not that bad." Nicol reacted.

"what? you're defending her now?" Dearka said.

"no, of course not!" Nicol defended.

No one noticed it but Flay heard everything they had said.

_Love hurts whether it's right or wrong_  
_I can't stop 'cause I'm having too much fun_

_You're on your knees,  
__begging, 'please_ _stay with me'_

"no one's begging you to stay here, Flay!" Kira yelled.

"yeah! booo!" Cagalli joined the mob.

"are they really friends? like what they say they are." Nicol mumbled.

_But honestly,_  
_I just need to be a little crazy_

Flay threw a pillow each at them then, she started jumping up and down on the mattress, just in time for the chorus.

_All my life I've been good but now,  
whoa, I'm thinking what the hell?_

"Liar! you've never been good!" Cagalli seemed to really enjoy it.

_All I want is to mess around  
and I don't really care about  
__If you love me, if you hate me,  
you can't save me, baby, baby_

"I think she seriously doesn't care." Dearka said.

"who cares?" Yzak scoffed.

"no one does." Shinn answered.

_All my life I've been good but now,  
whoa, what the hell?_

"what the hell, indeed." Mir teased.

"looks like she really loosened up out there." Lacus said.

"I guess, she goes crazy from time to time, you'll get used to her." Mir patted Lacus' shoulder.

Lacus smiled.

Flay jumped down and threw the microphone to Mir. "you're up."

"finally, this one's gonna be a little sentimental guys, prepare your tissues." she smirked.

_"Someday - Barbie Almalbis"_

_Alone and misunderstood  
That's why I came to you  
The feelings I have inside  
With you, I can't hide  
_

"you go, girl!" Cagalli cheered.

"yeah! clean up Flay's mess!" Kira joked.

"whatever!" Flay yelled at him.

_I see that life's a game  
Get hurt, but who's to blame  
I guess I'm just a child  
In a world that's very wild_

_Where can I find a place  
that's full of tenderness  
I get there when  
I close my eyes and hold and pray  
That you and I will be there_

"everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, even Flay turned out to be fun." Athrun said as he took his seat beside Cagalli.

"this wasn't such a bad idea after all. I guess we all just got ourselves worried for nothing." she replied.

"yeah. although, I'm still wondering what Flay said to Shiho, earlier." he said.

"come to think of it, Flay was a bit different today." she rested her head on Athrun's shoulder. "oh, well. we'll figure it all out eventually."

_Someday, I say  
We'll make a brighter day  
better than our yesterday_

_Someday, I say  
We'll make a brighter day but  
__today's our chance to be there..._

They went on singing their hearts out until they ran out of voices. Mostly, girls were the ones who did the singing, none of the guys dared. But they seemed to have a lot of fun as well just by watching and cheering.

Their night went away just like that and though they had doubts about it at first, they all had a great time in the end.

* * *

Like I said, I'm already stretching this, just thought I'd let them have some fun before the climax.

Please Review! It's the only way I know how many people have read this. Help me make it better. I'm open to comments, questions, suggestions, anything as long as you review it.

No flames, please respect that this is my Fic. Thank you!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


	12. A Bad Omen

Chapter 12! Thanks for the reviews!

CagsZala: That was another blunder of mine! Damn it! I so hate myself now! Sorry about that and thanks for pointing it out, I corrected it already. Again, thank you so much for that!

Jodeist: Did you actually looked up that song? Yeah, it does match her personality but only in this fic, too bad she's not really like that in GSD, she would've been better off this way.

I'm so sorry for updating a day late from my usual schedule! (*sobs*) I was suppose to update yesterday but I got trapped in reading a fanfic entitled "The High School Prince" by Lalalu, I just had to finish it then and there! Personally, I think it's the best AsuCaga fanfic ever! I'm so envious, I am so gonna try my hardest to write a lemon! (*evil laugh*)

Anyway, here's Chapter 12!

Read on with open minds, people. Thank you!

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 12: A Bad Omen**

It was already past ten in the morning when Flay, Mir, Stella and the five bodyguards got back into Le Creuset's estate. They all decided to rest for a while, so they all went to their respective rooms. Flay sent the five bodyguards to their quarters, saying that she'll only sleep more anyway and they did so.

Upon entering her room, Flay saw a bouquet of Higanbana in her table, it was bonded together by a big black ribbon.

"So, it's finally started." she muttered to herself as she walked towards the bouquet.

She saw that there was a letter attached to it, she took it.

After reading it, tears fell.

"No."

* * *

Cagalli, Meyrin, Luna and Shiho were fixing up the guest room they all used last night. Cagalli and Shiho were the ones changing the sheets while Meyrin and Luna were tidying up the ornaments.

"uhmm, Shiho. Can I ask you something?" she started.

"yeah, sure." Shiho replied.

"what did Flay say to you last night?" she tried to be as casual as she could.

Shiho was a bit surprised. "ah, well... I kinda promised her I wouldn't tell anyone... so, sorry but I can't tell you."

naturally, Cagalli got more curious but she didn't want to be drastic. "okay. well, if that's the case, can you tell me if it's important or not, instead?"

"well, I'm not really sure if it's important but it seems to be like that for her. why do you ask anyway? and how did you know I talked to her?" Shiho decided to turn the tables to avoid further interrogation.

"well... that's..." Cagalli was unsure of what to say, just her luck, Meyrin jumped on her back.

"so, Calla. I noticed that you and Master Athrun are really starting to get really close." she wrapped her arms on Cagalli's neck.

"yeah! you even call him by his first name now." Luna added.

Cagalli got a bit confused. "what are you talking about?" she asked. "don't all of you call him by his first name but keep it a secret from Miss Lenore?"

"what?" Shiho asked.

"because that's what he told me." Cagalli added.

"that's not true, we all call him 'Master Athrun', you're the only one who calls him plainly by his first name." Luna explained.

"but that's okay, you're his girlfriend anyway." Meyrin said cheerfully.

"eh?" Cagalli was dumbfounded.

* * *

Cagalli was at the rooftop contemplating about everything that Flay said yesterday. _"was running away been an act of cowardice? have I turned myself into a coward just because my actions were rash? wasn't it the right thing to do? what am I thinking? I didn't even think about that when I did it. I just thought to go wouldn't be so bad... I just wanted to go so bad... I didn't really care."_

She took a deep breath and sighed to herself. _"Flay was the one who coaxed me into running away in the first place, did she have to say those things? well, I guess that's just like her. I never understand her." she sighed again._

_"Kira isn't gonna leave until I go with him. what am I suppose to do? is there no helping me in this? damn it!"_ she held her forehead.

Athrun was on his way to the rooftop, it became like a secret meeting place for Cagalli and him after what happened there that time. He decided to go there since he can't seem to find Cagalli anywhere.

When he got there, he smiled to himself, there she was leaning over the railings.

"Calla!" he called out to her but she didn't look back.

Athrun then walked up to her and stood by her side.

"Calla? is there something wrong?" he asked sensing something.

"you said everyone calls you by your first name..." she paused. "but the truth is only I call you that."

he was a bit surprised. "sorry about that, I just didn't want you to call me 'Master', that's all." he answered, smiling nervously.

"why?" she asked.

"because you're special." he said plainly, trying to guess what's on her mind, he was staring at her but Cagalli's mind seems to be floating somewhere, did she not hear what he just said?

"what is that suppose to mean? I am only your personal maid." she said not really thinking about it.

"didn't that kiss make anything clear? I'm in love with you." he studied her face for reactions.

It took her a few good minutes before she actually realized what he said then, she blushed but she shook the feeling off, there was something more important than that right now.

"would you hate me if I lied to you?" she asked trying to sound serious.

Athrun didn't get it at first, he didn't like that kind of reaction after he had just confessed his feelings for her, those words really took out a lot from him and she won't even answer back? He was disappointed, not of Cagalli but of himself. Was he expecting too much? she didn't say she loved him after all.

Athrun mustered up some strength and answered. "no, of course not." still not forgetting the fact that she didn't say she loved him back.

"are you sure?" she wants to make things clear now, it's better now so she could assure herself, just in case something happens.

"yes, of course. I will never hate you no matter what you do... I can't." he assured her but he couldn't remove the doubt at the back of his mind.

Cagalli smiled. it was a small smile but Athrun didn't mind at least she believed him even if he really didn't understand the basis of that question to begin with.

Cagalli's smile quickly disappeared. "what are you gonna do if I had to go away?"

it was then when it struck him. "No." he managed to mutter.

he held Cagalli's shoulders and made her face him but Cagalli is still not looking at him.

"Calla, you can't do this... if Chris is the problem, I'll talk to him." he said in a stern voice but Cagalli didn't say anything.

he continued. "tell me where your father is, I'll talk to him too and if I must I'll even ask for your hand."

this time Cagalli looked at him, straight in the eyes, she smiled that 'sorry' smile and Athrun didn't want to ask any further but he still did.

"is there anything I could do?" he asked loosening his grip.

to his surprise, Cagalli suddenly hugged him tight and he hugged back.

"no matter what happens I love you and nothing will ever change that." he whispered in her ear.

"okay, just so you know, I love you as well." she said as he smiled.

"hey, you want to go out?" he asked out of the blue. "we need to get you a dress, remember?"

Cagalli laughed. "sure."

* * *

Athrun decided to eat out with Cagalli since they were going out anyway. He was wearing a red turtle neck with a long yellow overcoat and black pants. On the other hand Cagalli was a sleeveless green denim polo shirt with a white skirt. as he thought, Cagalli was cute in her maid uniform but she looks a lot better in casual clothes, especially when her hair falls just like that, he smiled to himself as she walked by and they got in his car.

Cagalli insisted to not eat in an expensive restaurant so they went into a fast food chain instead. As Athrun was in line to order their food, Cagalli was waiting at their table. every once in a while Athrun would look back and catch a glimpse oh her, whenever she would notice him, she would simply wave and flash a smile for him. this made Athrun very happy inside, her smile was like that of a thousand suns and it wasn't just a smile, it was a smile for him and him alone.

Athrun was in ecstasy, she was his heaven. He had never felt like this before and even if this time when he had her all to himself would be short but it didn't matter, because right now they were together.

Cagalli was staring out the glass windows, she was musing about how perfect everything would be, if only all of it weren't lies.

Suddenly, there was a guy who approached her. "hello there, cutie." he was big, as in, buff big. it was actually disgusting how his muscles seem to have muscles of it's own and how his veins were seen everywhere! it was as if they were trying to escape from his body.

"uhmm, hi." Cagalli forced a friendly smile, she was seriously scared, there was no way she could stand up to that guy, he was huge!

"I was just wondering if you could join us in our table over there." the big guy pointed to the table in the corner, there were many guys there, who were if not bigger, as big as him.

_"what are you people? monsters?"_ she thought to herself as she answered. "I'm actually waiting here for someone." then, she laughed a nervous laugh._"Athrun! where are you?—wait, can he even stand up to this guy?"_

as the big guy was about to take grasp of Cagalli's hand when they heard a voice from behind.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm with her." it was Athrun.

"Athrun."she said as she thought,_"oh no, does things like this really happen in real life?"_

"what are you, her boyfriend or something?" the big guy asked smugly.

"well, yes." Athrun answered briefly as he placed their tray on the table.

_"wait, he didn't even hesitate to say that?" _Cagalli thought.

"not when I'm done with you." the bug guy scoffed.

_"Oh no, I know Athrun is a soldier and all but this guy is just really huge!"_ Cagalli was thinking about grabbing Athrun and making a run for it or wait and watch until they wrestle.

However, before the big guy could roll his hand into a fist, Athrun took something out of his pocket and flashed it in the guy's face. it was his Zaft Identification Card, showing that he is not just a member of the top elite but also the son of Chairman Patrick Zala.

the big guy could only swallow hard as he bent down and bowed his head not only to show a sincere apology but also to show great respect. after all, Zaft runs the Plants.

Cagalli was stunned and a bit disappointed, she thought she'd see more than that, having Athrun fight for her like a hero would've been really cool but she should've known better that Athrun wouldn't stoop down to their level. in any case, she was glad.

the big guy quickly took off and Athrun seated himself in front of Cagalli.

Cagalli sighed. "for a second there, I thought you two would start a rumble." she was trying to make a joke.

"well, as much as I wanted to hit him hard, I can't." he replied.

"what do you mean?" Cagalli didn't understand.

"Calla, I'm a top elite soldier of Zaft. even if I'm not on duty, it's strongly against our protocols to get involve in fights against citizens." he explained. "we're supposed to take care of them after all." he smiled.

"oh, I never thought of it that way, you're right." Cagalli realized something, Athrun is very noble.

* * *

It was lunch time, Mir and Stella were already in their seats. Rey, Yzak, Dearka and Nicol were standing on the side as usual, they were waiting for Shinn who went up to Flay's room to fetch her.

"You know guys, I was wondering..." Mir started as she got the attention of everyone. "maybe you guys should start eating with us rather than eating first and then, standing there and watching us finish our meals."

"really?" Dearka was smiling that smile again.

"yeah, I'm sure Flay won't mind. after everything that happened last night I'm sure she won't have anymore issues with you guys." Mir continued.

"well, she did go a bit crazy that time." Rey mentioned.

"yeah, I almost didn't recognize that she was that snobbish girl we had to look after. she was very different last night, indeed." Dearka added.

"Flay's not really that bad, you guys just didn't know her well enough." Mir assured them.

"but still, it's inappropriate. we have a job and we have to take this seriously even if Le Creuset suddenly disappeared somewhere." Yzak stated.

"yeah, we can't neglect." Rey was still thinking twice.

"oh, come on! it's not like we're gonna snitch on you." Mir needed them to loosen up, just enough so they'd be comfortable as to not take notice on Flay's planned actions on the party. she never for once thought that all of her hard work would be for nothing.

then, they heard loud and fast steps coming from the stairs. suddenly, Shinn barged into the room, slamming the doors open.

he yelled. "Flay's missing!"

* * *

I know, Flay's been too active and since this is an AsuCaga fanfic, I'm sending her away for a chapter or two but she'll be back, with a vengeance! (*evil laugh!*)

Author's Note:

Higanbana - It's a scarlet flower often used in funerals in Japan and China. It's scientific name is _Lycoris Radiata. _It has a lot of other names like; Lycoris, Red Spider Lily, Cluster Amaryllis and Equinox Flower.

Whenever this flower would bloom, their leaves would have fallen and by the time the leaves grew back, the flowers would have already wilted. People believe that since the Higanbana is mostly associated with death, that one should NEVER give a bouquet of this flower.

Please Review! It's the only way I know how many people have read this. Help me make it better. I'm open to comments, questions, suggestions, anything as long as you review it.

No flames, please respect that this is my Fic. Thank you!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


	13. Under Different Circumstances

Chapter 13! Thanks for the reviews!

Jodeist: yes! I have finished it, that's why my update last time was a day late! Blame Lalalu! (*evil laugh*) in any case, I'm not done checking out her other stories yet but I don't want to linger on her profile too much or I may not be able to update again! (*sighs*)

anyway, now back to my fic.

Read on with open minds, people. Thank you!

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 13: Under Different Circumstances**

After having lunch, Athrun and Cagalli went to Aisha's store to get a dress for Cagalli. When they got there, Aisha greeted them with a big smile then she hurriedly ran to Cagalli for a hug. Aisha liked Cagalli very much and Cagalli likes her a lot too but the hug was a bit too much.

"Aisha! you're crushing me! get off!" Cagalli yelled at her.

Aisha got off, "Oh, I'm sorry! it's just that you're so cute! and I so love you! and—"

"okay! I get it, enough." Cagalli cut her off.

Athrun chuckled but regained composure after Cagalli glared at him.

"by the way, Aisha. we're here to get a dress for Cagalli for the pre-celebration, remember? I called you about that." he tried to shift Cagalli's attention.

"oh, yes. I remember, if I'm not mistaken that'll be two days from now, right?" Aisha replied.

"unfortunately, yes." Cagalli muttered loud enough for the two to hear.

"what's wrong? don't you like parties?" Aisha asked.

"generally, yes... I'm not too fond of such occasions and please, don't ask." she turned her head.

"I see... well, then let's get you your dress. this way please." Aisha took Cagalli further inside the room and they just left Athrun there to wait.

After a while, Cagalli came out carrying a big box, Aisha was following her.

"what's going on? aren't you gonna try that on?" he asked, feeling a bit disappointed.

"I already tried it on and it fits perfectly." Cagalli said with a cold voice.

"what? if that's so then, why didn't you even show me first?" Athrun said with a sour face.

Cagalli smirked. "if I showed you then you won't be surprised anymore when we see each other at the party."

Aisha giggled behind Cagalli as Athrun frowned, with that Cagalli went off and after saying a quick goodbye and thanks to Aisha, Athrun ran after Cagalli.

* * *

Mir, Stella, along with the five bodyguards, hurriedly went into Flay's room after figuring out she's gone missing. When they got there, everything seemed normal and in place, except for the bouquet of flowers on the table which got all of their attention.

Mir went near the table and took hold of the flowers. "for someone who doesn't know how to appreciate flowers, she sure receives a lot." she said in a sarcastic tone.

"Bad Omen." Stella muttered.

the guys all looked at her except for Mir, who continued to examine the bouquet.

"what's that suppose to mean?" Shinn asked, looking at Stella.

"these flowers are only meant to be given to the dead." Mir stated as all of their attention was quickly diverted to her.

"what?" Nicol said in disbelief.

"come to think of it, what are those flowers?" Rey inquired.

"yeah, I've never seen anything like those before." Shinn added.

"these are Higanbana flowers and they only grow on Earth." Mir answered, still holding the bouquet.

"now, why would someone send her those kind of flowers? as you said, they're for the dead... and besides, they were sent here from Earth." Dearka asked.

"who knows?" Mir said in a much lower volume.

"so, where do you think she went?" Shinn asked, looking at Nicol.

"a much better question would be if she did go out on her own... or something else happened." Dearka struck a point.

Nicol turned walked over to Mir. "do you have any ideas?"

Mir didn't answer.

"if we did lose her, won't Le Creuset murder us?" Shinn looked at the other guys.

"that's a stupid question! of course he'd kill us!" Yzak snapped at Shinn then, he turned to Mir. "we have to find her, fast."

"in that case, we better get some help." Mir muttered.

* * *

Athrun was driving the car with Cagalli seated beside him, they were both quiet since they got into the car, until Cagalli finally couldn't stand it anymore.

"oh, come on. Athrun. are you still mad?" she said with a frown.

"I'm not mad." his reply was brief.

"really?" she asked again trying to irritate him more.

"really." he replied coldly.

"you're lying." she insisted.

"I'm not." he remained cold.

Cagalli sighed, "okay, what do you want me to do so you could forgive me?" Athrun lit up and looked at her.

"—except wearing that dress, of course." she continued and he frowned again.

then, Athrun sighed. "where do you want to go then?"

this question kinda surprised Cagalli but after a while she smiled bright and said, "let's go to outer space then."

Athrun just blinked twice, "eh?"

* * *

Meyrin was running towards the grand ballroom, carrying big boxes of supplies when she accidentally bumped into the ladder where Sting was on top of, as a result Sting fell down and crashed on the boxes Meyrin was carrying, he tried to hold on to the decorations he was fixing on top of the walls but since that can't possibly support his weight, the decorations got ripped off and everything was just a big mess.

"ouch..." Meyrin muttered as she was hit by a part of the ladder when Sting fell.

"Meyrin, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Sting shouted at her as he was rubbing the back of his head.

"sorry, the boxes were big and heavy so I was running and didn't notice you were up there." Meyrin was rubbing her lower back.

"Meyrin! are you all right?" Luna yelled as she jumped off the stage in the center front of the ballroom.

"Oh, my goodness! what happened?" Myrna said as she ran to the two, Kira was following behind her.

"sorry, Myrna. we made another mess." Meyrin bowed her head in embarrassment.

"what do you mean 'we', it was only you who made a mess." Sting said as he got up.

"Sting! how dare you say that?" Luna glared at him as he turned his head.

"it's fine as long as noone's hurt, just clean this up, okay?" Myrna said with an assuring smile.

Auel was laughing by the chairs and tables he was checking, Shiho dropped some table covers on the chair beside Auel as she put her hands on her hips.

"stop fooling around, Auel. that wasn't even funny to begin with." she tried to sound as strict as she could.

"okay, okay. I'll be going back to work now, Ma'am." Auel said with a silly smile.

Looking at all of them, Kira could only heave a deep sigh. _"where the hell is Cagalli when you need her? of all the times they can go out, they chose today, doesn't Master Athrun even care about this party?"_ he sighed again. _"two days from now will be the pre-celebration and after that, we'd only have three days until the Treaty-signing... what the hell am I suppose to do?"_ he was starting to get really worried, nearing panic mode.

"Holy God have mercy..." he muttered to himself as he held his forehead and gave out another sigh.

* * *

Athrun and Cagalli went to a space observatory, it's a facility which specializes on space ventures and they actually let you stargaze in outer space, well just out on the surface of the Plants.

Athrun and Cagalli were then given space suits and went through briefing first, of course Athrun doesn't really need all that but Cagalli does and he can't possibly leave her by herself.

After all of that, they were finally directed to the surface and before they head out, they were given a little time to brace themselves.

"this is so exciting! I've been onboard space shuttles, back and forth the Plants and Orb but I've never really been out on the surface." Cagalli had that twinkle in her eyes that Athrun just can't help staring then, she noticed him. "what's wrong?"

Athrun blushed then looked away. "uhmm, nothing... it's just that, I've never really done anything like this before."

"really?" Cagalli asked in disbelief.

"well, yeah. even though I've become a mobile suit pilot and been out in space for God knows how many times, I've never really stargazed out on the surface... we've never had the chance to do that because of work." he explained.

"I see, we'll now we can! let's go!" Cagalli went ahead of him.

"this is crazy... but for you I will." he muttered, looking at her back.

Cagalli looked back at him and waved. "come on, Athrun. Let's go!" she yelled cheerfully.

* * *

Stella was seating on Flay's bed while Nicol, Rey, Shinn, Dearka and Yzak were looking around not really searching for anything.

"just what the hell are we looking for?" Shinn broke the silence.

"anything that may give us a clue as to where she could possibly have gone to." Rey answered.

"but there's nothing here, the only thing that's suspicious is that bouquet." he said while looking at the flowers.

"shut up and just keep looking, will you?" Yzak snapped.

"this is hopeless, we're going nowhere." Nicol muttered out loud.

"maybe we should contact Commander now?" Shinn added, looking at Nicol.

"you're out of your mind." Dearka answered.

"well then, what else are we suppose to do?" Shinn whined.

Rey and Nicol looked at each other and sighed.

Then, Rey looked over to Stella, "Stella, don't you have any ideas?" he asked.

Stella just shook her head in silence and looked down.

"I'm starting to get worried." Nicol muttered as he got the attention of the other four guys.

Then, they once again fell into deep silence until Dearka broke it.

"by the way, where's Mir?" he said.

* * *

Athrun and Cagalli held hands while walking towards the edge of the surface, they had to be careful unless they want to float away. Their bodies were light due to lack of gravity and everything around them was dark, except for the white platform where they were standing on.

They went near the edge as Cagalli gasped at the beauty of space in front of her, Athrun wasn't really that interested, he's seen it over a million times before, the only difference was, this time he wasn't inside a mobile suit and space wasn't a battlefield more importantly, he has Cagalli beside him.

The stars were brighter, all around there were gaseous substances which looked a lot like colored clouds of different shapes, sizes and forms. The moon was huge and golden. And the Earth was a big sphere of blue and green. The view was just breath-taking, it was the world.

"Wow... it's beautiful." Cagalli said as she gazed around her.

"yeah." Athrun was actually staring at Cagalli instead.

"the stars are so close it's as if I could touch them." she then stretched out her hand. "it's so surreal."

Athrun decided to gaze at the view as well. "Hey, Calla." he called.

"hmm?"

"if we weren't wearing helmets, I'd kiss you right now." he said.

Cagalli was startled at first but she was able to reply. "that'd be nice." she said with a blush.

then, Athrun tightened his grip of her hand. "You don't know how happy I am to have met you." he muttered.

"me too." she said then her eye brows furrowed, remembering that he doesn't even know her real name. _"I don't wanna lie to you anymore, so I'll tell you the truth... but not right now for I'm still a bit scared."_ she thought then she looked up again, _"soon, for sure."_

* * *

Kira was helping Sting replace the decorations which were ruined earlier when he received a call, he carefully went down the ladder then, he went out the balcony to answer his call and make sure noone will hear him. He had to be very careful since he saw the caller ID.

"hello, Mir. is that you?" he asked looking over his shoulder then he turned back his gaze on the view outside.

"we have a problem, a big one." her voice sounded really worried which instantly gave Kira a bad feeling.

"what is it? did Flay do something again?" he said, keeping calm.

"well, actually... the problem is Flay... she's gone missing and we have absolutely no ideas as to what happened to her." Mir explained.

"what?" he managed to mutter as he was in complete shock.

"Kira... are you still there? hey, what are we gonna do?" Mir's voice shook him back to reality.

"yeah, I'm still here. Listen, have you tried to search for her? you have a tracker program, if I remember correctly." he said.

"yes, I do... but Flay borrowed it from me, one day after we arrived here and she hasn't returned it yet. so... we're totally helpless." she replied.

"she borrowed it? for what?" Kira asked out of sudden curiosity.

"well... I'm not really sure but I think it has something to do with the stalker... and you know, we found a bouquet of Higanbana flowers in her room when we figured she was missing.

Kira's eyes narrowed then he asked, "does Le Creuset know?"

"no, he's away and I don't think he'll coming back any time soon." Mir answered.

"I see, I'll talk to Miss Lenore... and we'll surely find her but for the meantime, just be careful." he said with furrowed eye brows.

"all right, see you later. bye." After putting her phone down, Mir sighed and suddenly felt someone else's presence in the room. she looked behind her and she almost jumped.

"damn it, Dearka! you scared me!" she yelled.

"oh, sorry about that." he said as he walked towards her.

"how long have you been standing there?" she said as she regained composure.

"a while... so, who was that?" he was now beside her.

Mir took a deep breath before answering, "what? you've gone suspicious of everyone? actually, that was just Chris... I just informed him about Flay, okay? nothing to be concerned of." she looked straight in Dearka's eyes to assure him but she regretted it after hearing what Dearka said next.

"if that was true... why did you call him 'Kira'?" he said with stern eyes, almost glaring.

Mir's eyes grew wide as she froze then, she yelled in her mind. _"Damn it!"_

* * *

Please Review! It's the only way I know how many people have read this. Help me make it better. I'm open to comments, questions, suggestions, anything as long as you review it.

No flames, please respect that this is my Fic. Thank you!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


	14. Déjà vu

Chapter 14! Thanks for the reviews!

As some of you may have noticed, I've already removed this fic from the category of 'Athrun and Cagalli' because someone said that it doesn't seem to fit in there anymore, so there, that's my answer. Please don't get me wrong, I clearly understood your point, the truth is I already know that since chapter 1, I just thought noone would mind but since you did, I guess I have to explain myself.

I'm sorry for deleting your review, I kinda got carried away and over-reacted, but now I have my thoughts in place. I want you to know that I'm seriously trying my hardest to keep the focus on AsuCaga, unfortunately, my musings aren't going in their direction. I'm really sorry if this isn't as much AsuCaga as you would've wanted, you don't have to read this anymore if you don't want to.

It's really painstaking to fight against your own musings, I sent her away because of that but I'm still mentioning her because I really can't help it, I feel the necessity of her role, so again, I'm sorry. For those who can't stand Flay, please just stop reading this because she'll be back in the next chapter. That's all, thank you and please bear with me.

Read on with open minds, people. Thank you!

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 14: Déjà vu**

Athrun and Cagalli decided to have dinner first before going home, this time they went to a restaurant. Athrun didn't seem willing to go back to a fast food chain after what happened earlier and Cagalli didn't want to go back home yet because she knows Kira will scold her for going out instead of helping with the preparations.

After ordering and receiving their food, Athrun noticed that they didn't seem to have much conversation going on and Cagalli was kinda quiet since they left the observatory. It really bothered him so he thought about what couples should talk about when he realized that he doesn't really know much about her, except for her name and that she ran away.

it was then when he broke the silence, "so... why did you ran away?" he was so casual that Cagalli almost didn't know what hit her, it's a good thing she decided to ponder about her answer first before opening her big mouth.

"be-because... I-I..." she was stuttering which made Athrun worry even more but he didn't want to force the answer out of her.

"it's okay if you don't want to tell me, I was just curious anyway." he said looking back down into his plate.

Cagalli stared at him, _"do I have to tell him now?"_ she swallowed hard and took a deep breath, "I ran away because of my father, we had a fight about something."

"that's it?" he asked.

"what do you mean by that?" she got a little irritated, it took her great courage to say that, of course she wasn't anywhere near the truth yet but you gotta start somewhere.

"I just thought it would take more than that for someone to make a decision as reckless as running away." he said calmly, not noticing Cagalli's mood shift.

"you mean, I'm reckless?" she's mad.

"well, yes." he said plainly.

_"how dare you?"_ she screamed in her mind while trying to think of a good defense. her face was turning red from anger while her eye brow started twitching.

Athrun finally noticed this but unfortunately for Cagalli, he liked it.

after a few more moments of silence from her, he asked the obvious. "are you mad?"

"no." she looked away, he smiled.

"that's a shame." he said then, Cagalli looked at him. "you're cute when you're mad." he grinned and she blushed furiously.

_"how the hell am I suppose to tell you the truth when you're fooling around like that?"_ she thought as she looked away.

Athrun knew that he wasn't going anywhere on getting to know her more but he can't help it, she's so cute. amused, he smiled even bigger on the inside and decided to try getting serious again.

"so... what did you fight about?" he examined her expression and saw the blush wear off as she turned to him.

she looked straight in his eyes and with a serious tone she said, "he was forcing me to get engaged."

Athrun was crestfallen.

* * *

Mir, Stella and the five bodyguards were having dinner altogether after Mir's insistence last time, of course now she kinda regrets suggesting the idea in the first place because of Dearka.

Mir was seating in front of Dearka which makes it even harder to avoid him, she wasn't able to explain at all about Kira because Shinn suddenly came and interrupted them.

she heaved a deep sigh, _"Am I gonna tell him? he's bound to ask me about it again, later. I have to think of a good lie but I'm not a good liar like Flay. what the hell am I suppose to say? should I tell him the truth?—wait, can I even trust him?"_ she glanced at Dearka, he noticed her and smirked._ "no, I can't trust him... somebody kill me!"_ she mentally cursed herself for leaving the door open, she should've been more careful.

"Mir? are you all right?" Stella's voice snapped her back to reality.

she was still a bit stiff when she answered, "ah... yeah."

"it's awfully quiet here now, don't you think?" Dearka grinned at her.

_"damn you."_ she glared at him but it only made his grin grow bigger.

"would you stop that! you perverted bastard!" Yzak slapped Dearka's head causing the latter to wince.

"oww...!" Dearka rubbed his head.

"even if Flay's gone you can't harass Mir." Yzak warned.

"I'm not harassing her! we're good friends, right Mir?" Dearka turned to her.

"whatever... thanks for that Yzak." indeed she was grateful.

* * *

Athrun and Cagalli were already on their way home when they stopped at a park, Cagalli wanted to waste as much time as she could so it'd be easy to avoid confrontations with Kira later. Also, she wanted to give it another try, she wouldn't want Athrun to jump into conclusions, not that he would since that's not like him but she wanted to make sure anyway.

she sat on a bench, he followed her. he wanted to ask about her plans, Chris was there to convince her to go back home, after all. but he didn't now where to begin. he is quite aware that for her to stay with him would be troublesome but he didn't want her to go. he wants her to just be by his side no matter what, that's it, that's what's important but he can't be selfish.

"what do you wanna do?" he meant, her plans regarding her runaway.

"I don't know but I don't wanna go back... not yet." she meant, to go back home to the Zala estate.

"not yet? so, you still want to go back?" he asked again trying to make sure.

"yes, of course. I live there, after all." she said not really thinking about it.

Athrun swallowed hard, _"she still wants to go back home, I can't stop her."_ he thought.

_"He's acting weird, doesn't he want me to stay? I've got nowhere else to go."_ she thought.

"Calla, listen... no matter what happens, whatever you do, I love you." he smiled at her. _"even if you decide to leave in the future, right now, you're still here so I'm happy."_

Cagalli blushed instantly and she was already prepared to say the same thing when he suddenly stood up and said, "let's go home." then, he turned his back.

She hurriedly went after him and hugged him from his back, for a moment time stood still. He then, faced her and they kissed.

It was different, the feeling wasn't as much bliss as the first time. Athrun had hesitations and Cagalli could sense that but she didn't react, she was guilty.

* * *

Mir took Stella by the hand to the comfort room, away from the guys. She was starting to get desperate, Dearka isn't really making this any easier for her. It's good that she was able to buy some time but that won't last long. She had to do something to, at least, occupy the guys while she proceeds with the plan.

She's not really thinking that something must've happened, she would rather think of it in a way that things made sense to her, which is, Flay arranging some stuff.

she held Stella's hand between hers as she said, "Stella, please promise me that whatever happens you'll stand by my side and play along with everything that I say and do, okay?" that was all she could come up with after being somewhat threatened.

"okay, Stella will be helpful." she answered.

Mir smiled at her then, they went out. They can't really stay in there for a long time because the guys will surely become suspicious and the last thing that they want right now is attention.

After returning to the room with the five guys, they were greeted back by grave tension. The atmosphere was almost unbearable, the guys were all still and silent until Mir broke it.

"what's wrong? did you guys find out something?" she asked.

At first noone answered then she noticed Dearka staring at her, "Commander Le Creuset is coming home tomorrow."

* * *

Kira was able to talk to Lenore about Flay but he got no answers, though she did promise to investigate. Also, he was informed about the coming home of the Chairman for the pre-celebration. He and Cagalli has met the Chairman before so, to lie would be impossible, Lenore said that she can't promise anything about that either. They would have to sort things out on their own. Who knows what kind of catastrophe might happen once the Chairman found out the prince and princess of Orb were acting as servants in his mansion.

_"And then, there's the other more complicated problem... come to think of it, where the hell are those two? It's already late!"_ Kira thought as he paced back and forth his room, rubbing his forehead with his other hand in his hip. He looked really problematic.

"what the hell is he doing?" Shiho muttered to herself as she was watching Kira through the window. _"is this guy really a prince? that is just so hard to believe... but then..."_ she wanted to watch more but the sound of a car engine disturbed her and she decided to hide behind a tree.

It was Athrun's car, he finally arrived with Cagalli.

_"and here comes the princess... I better get back to the kitchen."_ Shiho thought as she went through the back.

Athrun heaved a deep sigh as he got out of the car, _"Chris is sure to scold her."_ he thought, looking at his watch as it says 10:47.

He then opened Cagalli's door to help her out when the main door of the mansion suddenly opened revealing a somewhat pissed Kira.

Athrun and Cagalli gulped as Kira went straight to the both of them and grasped Cagalli by the wrist.

"we need to talk, now." he said as he was pulling her towards the mansion.

Cagalli looked back at Athrun and yelled, "goodnight Athrun, see you tomorrow."

"yeah, goodnight." Athrun could only heave another sigh as he watched her being pulled away. _"well, I guees I can't blame him. I better apologize tomorrow."_

As Kira and Cagalli entered his room, Cagalli yelled at him. "what the hell is your problem? that was rude!"

Kira put his hands on her shoulders, "we've got bigger problems..." he took a deep breath before calming himself a little and saying, "Flay's gone missing! and Chairman Zala is coming home, tomorrow!"

* * *

"What the hell am I doing here?" Mir asked Dearka as they were walking through the shopping district the next morning.

"what do you mean by that? this is a date, you know." Dearka answered with a smirk.

"I know that! what I meant was, shouldn't you be worried? Le Creuset is coming home today, isn't he?" Mir glared at him.

"yeah but I'm sure those other guys can handle him." his smile never left his face.

Back at Le Creuset's estate.

"where the hell is Dearka?" Yzak's voice was as loud as ever.

"Commander is coming home any second." Nicol added with a tone of anxiety.

"come to think of it, Mir's gone as well." Shinn added, looking at Stella who was sitting by herself in the sofa.

"you mean, those two went out?" Rey asked.

"probably." Shinn answered.

"what? why now?" Yzak asked pissed.

"maybe he wants to relax himself before facing Commander." Nicol pondered out loud.

"yeah, right. he's probably just trying to escape Commander's wrath." Shinn said sarcastically.

"I'm gonna kill him when he comes back." Yzak muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

Rey and Nicol could only sigh.

* * *

Cagalli was serving breakfast to Athrun in his balcony. As she placed his food on the table, Athrun was just staring at her intently. When she finished, he called for her attention and looked really serious.

"Calla, I want to introduce you to my father, later. Do you mind?" he asked.

_"what? of all the things you could ask me, why that?"_ she screamed in her mind. "but won't I meet him eventually? there is no need for that." she laughed nervously.

"nonsense, I want be there when you meet him." he said with a smile.

he looked so happy that Cagalli couldn't do anything but nod.

she then exited his room for they still have finishing touches to do with the ballroom.

after closing his door, she almost jumped when she heard someone's voice.

"need an escape?"

it came from Shiho who was probably standing there the whole time, she must've eavesdropped too.

"Uhmm, what are you talking about?" Cagalli kept herself calm.

Shiho smiled, "we're coming short on wines, I was told to order some quickly so I'm heading out. wanna come?"

* * *

Mir was walking beside Dearka when she started feeling uncomfortable. all this time she thought Dearka would start questioning her about what he heard when they got alone but he has never mentioned any of that yet.

"what are you doing?" Mir asked all of a sudden.

"what? I'm not doing anything." Dearka said.

"I meant, aren't you even gonna ask me about 'that'?" she looked down.

"you don't want me to ask about it right? so, I won't. besides, I know you won't do anything to Flay, it's for sure that you're on her side." he said plainly.

Mir was stunned, she couldn't believe the things he had said, _"maybe... just maybe I could trust him..."_ she thought as she stopped walking, just outside a certain store. Dearka noticed this and turned to her as she tugged on his sleeve.

Mir was looking straight at him, her eyes almost pleading.

"what's wrong?" he asked, getting worried because of her expression.

she tried to answer but stopped when the store's door opened as Cagalli and Shiho came out.

Mir's mouth was left wide open, her expression changed from seriously almost pleading to complete shock.

Dearka blinked twice before looking at his back to see Cagalli's mouth opened equally as wide as Mir's.

Shiho stared at Cagalli then, she looked at Mir who was with Dearka.

_"Déjà vu, huh?"_ Shiho thought to herself as she smiled on the inside.

* * *

Please Review! It's the only way I know how many people have read this. Help me make it better. I'm open to comments, questions, suggestions, anything as long as you review it.

No flames, please respect that this is my Fic. Thank you!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


	15. The Shocking News

Chapter 15! Thanks for the reviews!

AsuCaga4ever: No, I wasn't upset at all, please tell me about your opinions, you guys are the only ones who can point out my shortcomings and help me make this better. So, thank you so much for that.

Again, thank you so much for everything! Please bear with me!

Read on with open minds, people.

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 15: The Shocking News**

Athrun was walking around the mansion, looking for Calla for he was informed that his father will be arriving any time soon. When he turned to a corner, he saw his mother talking to Chris in the garden although it wasn't any of his intentions, he ended up eavesdropping.

"I see, well if worst comes to worst, we'll just have to bear with all of it." Kira was standing beside the table where Lenore was having her tea.

"don't worry, I'm sure if we explain everything to him, he wouldn't make such a big fuss about it... what concerns me more is that, he's suppose to come back tomorrow on the day itself and not today." she said as she took a sip of her tea.

"what are you trying to say? aren't you glad that he's coming ahead of schedule?" Kira asked out of sudden curiosity.

"if course, I'm glad but... he's usually strict when it comes to plans... and somehow, I'm getting a bad feeling about this." she stared at her tea.

_"this doesn't seem natural... I wonder what's going on?"_ Athrun thought to himself as he watched the backs of his mother and the butler.

Kira suddenly turned to Lenore, "well, in any case, I am very grateful for everything that you've done for Cagalli and I, thank you so much, Miss Lenore." he then, bowed his head.

Lenore giggled, "oh, Kira, sweetie. you don't have to be so formal. the Treaty-signing is in only four days from now and after that, our families will surely be well acquainted. there's no need for such formalities, you can always be just casual with me."

Kira just smiled at her, it was so nice to have met a woman like her, who was such a great mother figure. Kira and Cagalli never got the chance to meet their mother for she died when they were born, probably due to the complications of giving birth to twins.

_"my mother called him 'Kira'... but why? his name is Chris, isn't it? ...and who's Cagalli?"_ for a moment, Athrun got lost in his deep thoughts, trying to figure out things on his own but that didn't take long since he was pulled out of his thoughts when Arthur came running towards Lenore and Kira.

he was still panting when he said. "Chairman Zala has just arrived!"

* * *

Mir, Dearka, Shiho and Cagalli were all just standing in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at one another. None of them knew what was really going on but they can all feel the tension. Until Dearka broke the silence.

"what's wrong? you look like you've seen a ghost..." he said as he turned to Mir and raised her chin to close her mouth which earned him a glare.

Mir then, stood forward and faced Cagalli, "we need to talk."

After a while they decided to enter a coffee shop, Cagalli and Mir wanted to talk things through first before deciding if they would let Dearka and Shiho into the secret so, they went into the comfort room leaving Dearka and Shiho at the table.

"so... what's going on from your end?" Cagalli asked as she closed the door behind her.

"actually, even I'm not entirely sure but I'm really getting worried... and you?" Mir replied with a heavy sigh.

"Chairman Zala is coming home today and Athrun wants me to meet him." she looked down and held her forehead.

"what a coincidence? Le Creuset is coming home today too... so, what are you planning?" Mir asked.

"I don't know... maybe I'll just avoid him." Cagalli said as she leaned on one of the cubicles.

"that's not gonna work, you're living in his house." Mir stared at Cagalli's reflection in the mirror.

"I know but... maybe Kira could do something..." she then heaved a deep sigh.

_"should I tell her? nah, Flay would surely kill me... then again, she's missing... but still, what about the mission?"_ Mir contemplated on whether telling Cagalli what she knows or just hold on until Flay comes back, just then Cagalli asked.

"do you think I should tell Athrun the truth?" Cagalli said as she bit her lip.

"yes... but it's still for you to decide. the party is tomorrow, we'll be there and we'll have your back... whatever happens." she said turning around to face Cagalli.

Cagalli just smiled, "thanks..."

"don't thank me yet... we'll have lots of time to do that when we get back." Mir put her hand on her shoulder and smiled.

but instead of being relieved, Cagalli froze upon hearing those words.

"what's wrong?" Mir asked, worried about Cagalli's sudden change of expression.

"what do you mean 'when we get back'?" she managed to say it.

Mir hesitated at first but was able to answer.

"Cagalli, you're not seriously thinking that you could just stay there forever, are you?"

* * *

Shiho was seating in front of Dearka while waiting for the two to come back.

"by the way, my name is Dearka, you're a maid of Athrun's right? he casually offered his hand.

"oh, I'm Shiho. nice to meet you." she took his hand and shook it.

Shiho thought that Dearka would start asking questions about what's happening at the Zala estate but as time went by, he never did so she was a bit surprised and decided to ask about what's happening over on the other side, herself.

"so... any news on Flay?" she tried to sound as casual as she could.

Dearka raised an eye brow, "I know you got to spend some time with her but do you really care?" he asked.

somehow that sounded like an insult so she was a bit irritated but did her best to just let it pass.

"what do you mean? I was just asking..." she sipped her tea.

"...I don't know what's going on between you and that girl but... it's a big problem for us that she's gone because Le Creuset is coming." he then, slouched on his seat.

"what do you mean? isn't she coming back in time for the party?" she said but immediately regretted it, _"damn it! I slipped! hope he doesn't notice."_

Dearka's eyes widen at hearing that, "she's coming back?—"

but before he was able to inquire more about Flay, Cagalli barged out of the comfort rooms, straight out of the coffee shop, without even turning back at Mir who was running after her.

"what the hell?" Dearka muttered as he and Shiho quickly stood up from their seats.

"I'll talk to you again tomorrow at the party." with that Shiho went out, chasing Cagalli.

Dearka walked towards Mir who stopped outside the shop as she gave up on following Cagalli.

"what happened?" he asked, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"she didn't like what I had to say..." she said with a deep sigh.

* * *

Lenore and Athrun greeted Patrick as he came out of his car, Lenore was the one who greeted him first by kissing him on the cheeks then, Athrun approached him and bowed.

"I hear about your dismissal but I didn't really think you'd be hear when I arrive." Patrick said as he walked towards the door with Lenore by his side.

"uhmm... well, I think I was a bit excited to see you again father, I missed you so much." Athrun answered with hesitation as he followed.

"hmm... I guess it has been a while." he said as the three of them entered the mansion and were greeted by the line of servants.

Arthur and Myrna were in front while Kira was at the back, in line with the other servants. Though he tried his best to not be noticed, he still stood out.

"is that a new face?" Patrick asked as he stopped in front of Arthur and Myrna. This made Kira's sweat drop.

"yes, Milord. he is the new butler, Chris Hibiki." Arthur started as Kira bowed.

"he came to work for us after his sister became a maid, my dear." Lenore continued.

"I see, he seems rather familiar." he said as Kira gulped. "well, then. keep up the good work." he then went off with Lenore.

"where's Calla?" Athrun managed to ask as he approached Kira.

"she went with Shiho to order some wines, Master Athrun. I'm sure she'll be back soon." he answered.

"I see, thanks." then, Athrun turned his back and went after his parents. _"there's still plenty of time, it's not like father will go anywhere, right? once I gain his support regarding Calla, everything will be easier."_ When he arrived outside his father's study room, he saw his mother waiting by the door.

"mom?" he inquired.

"he said he wants to speak to you. I'll just get something to drink and I'll be right back, okay? Now, in you go." she then opened the door and closed it after Athrun went in.

Patrick was facing the balcony, his back turned to Athrun. "sit down, my son. I have something important to tell you."

"yes, actually I too have something important to say. please go on first, father." he then, sat on the sofa and waited. for some reason he was a bit tense.

"very well, then. I want you to know that the council and I have decided to have you engaged for the upcoming Treaty-signing..." he said.

Athrun froze upon hearing those words but he managed to keep his face steady and maintain his composure.

"...I know, this may sound rash but your fiancée has already been chosen and you will meet her on the day of the Treaty-signing itself." he then walked and stood in front of Athrun before continuing, "I want you to be at your very best when the day comes, all right? Now, what was it that you wanted to tell me?"

"uhmm..." he honestly didn't know what to say, since he was young he already knew his father's decisions were as solid as ultimatums and can never be withdrawn or altered, that's why he didn't even ask of his opinion in the first place, it's because in that house his thoughts meant nothing. But for Calla's sake, he has to say something, this time he had to make a stand.

He stood up and looked straight in the eyes of his father, Patrick clearly understood that he was serious so he payed attention. Unfortunately, before Athrun could even open his mouth to protest, they heard a knock and stared at the person who came inside with their drinks.

Seeing that it was just his wife, Patrick turned to Athrun again with all of his attention. Athrun on the other hand, was still staring at his mother. When he tried to face back his father who was staring at him, he caught a glimpse of how his mother shook her head as a disapproval to his protest. He was stunned, his mother was giving him that look. He then, realized that he won't be getting any support from his mother regarding this matter.

"Athrun?" Patrick spoke with his voice giving a hint of concern.

"Uhmm, it's nothing." he then looked down and excused himself.

Closing the door behind him, Athrun fell into a bit of depression and deep thought. He was concerned, not of the engagement but more of the sudden disapproval of his mother. Everyone knows how much Lenore likes and cares for Calla and wasn't it her who got him to pursue Calla in the first place? With all of those things floating in his mind, Athrun went straight to his bedroom, he didn't even bother thinking about what he would say to Calla, knowing he fell into the same hole that she ran away from. How is he suppose to face her now?

"for a second there, I thought he was going to say something really important, it was as if he was prepared to argue with me." Patrick said as he sat down the sofa.

"well, since he didn't say anything that proves that it wasn't important at all, right?" she then poured coffee into his cup.

"I guess... by the way, how is it that the prince of Orb is currently serving in this mansion as a mere butler?" he asked.

Lenore flinched and was a bit surprised but she was already expecting something like that so, she was prepared.

"you didn't seriously think I wouldn't notice, did you?" he continued with a grin.

Lenore just giggled at his act of knowingness then she sat beside him and said. "please, just don't mind it. let me take care of this part... I assure you, it wouldn't be so bad."

* * *

"damn you, bastard!" Yzak was all over Dearka's face when he got back with Mir. If it weren't for the best efforts of Rey, Shinn and Nicol, he would've been headless by now.

"what's the big deal? we got back before Le Creuset came, so it's fine." he simply replied.

"what?" Yzak snapped.

"please don't provoke him anymore, Dearka." Nicol begged as he held Yzak back by the arm.

"yeah, besides we already have enough problems. please don't disappear like that all of a sudden again." Rey said calmly with a hint of irritation.

"yeah, yeah, yeah." seeing that Mir already got upstairs, he turned to the guys and whispered. "do you guys remember that Shiho girl, one of Athrun's maids?" he asked trying to keep a low volume.

"the one Flay talked to?" Shinn asked.

"yeah, that one. Mir and I bumped into her and the other maid, Calla, earlier." Dearka started.

"what about them?" Nicol payed attention along with the rest.

"she said Flay would come back for the party." he said.

"what?" Rey, Yzak and Nicol reacted in unison.

"yeah, I guess Flay did tell her a few things that time." Dearka continued.

"maybe we can talk to her." Nicol suggested.

"we will, tomorrow." Rey decided.

"that's if we're still alive." Shinn made a sarcastic remark which made the other four glare at him.

Just then, Mir came running down the stairs. "Le Creuset is here!" she yelled.

After a while of greetings and salutations, they were finally able to settle down in the living room. All of them were feeling a bit of tension due to Flay's disappearance but they were all surprised that Le Creuset wasn't even looking for her and that it seemed fine to him that she isn't around.

Le Creuset felt their uneasiness and decided to break the ice, "so... how was your vacation so far?" he asked looking at Mir and Stella.

Mir gulped before answering, "uhmm... it's been very nice, thank you so much for everything." she smiled nervously.

"doesn't she know?" Nicol whispered to Dearka, who just shook his head.

"the party tomorrow, will be the end of your staying here... are you sure you want to just stay indoors?" Le Creuset said as he sipped his coffee.

_"they're going back?"_ the same thought lingered around the minds of the five bodyguards after hearing those words.

_"that's right, the mission will end there."_ Rey thought.

_"after all of this, we'll just go back to headquarters... back to our old jobs."_ Dearka glanced at Mir.

_"I don't think there's a chance I'll see her again after tomorrow's party."_ Shinn thought as he stared at Stella.

_"finally! this nightmare's about to end. I can't wait."_ Yzak yelled in his mind.

_"no. it's not gonna end there... because after the party, we have the Treaty-signing to look forward to... then, all will be revealed... this is merely the beginning of the rest. what will happen to us?"_ Nicol contemplated with mixed emotions of eagerness and anxiety.

"that's right, after that we'll all go back for the Treaty-signing but right now, we don't really have time to shop..." Mir paused. "if you haven't heard yet... Flay's been missing." she bit her lip as they all looked at his face for his reaction.

_"there, she said it!"_ Rey exclaimed in his mind.

_"this is it, we're all gonna die, right here!" _Dearka yelled in his mind.

_"I can't look!"_ Shinn closed his eyes.

"yes, I know." Le Creuset simply answered.

"what?" they all reacted in unison, except for Stella who remained calmly seated.

"what do you mean, you know?" Mir asked.

"she actually called me before leaving and from what I've heard it was just sad and dreadful." Le Creuset continued.

"what are you talking about?" Nicol stepped forward.

"didn't she say anything? Flay actually went back to Earth for the funeral." he replied.

"what funeral?" Mir asked.

Le Creuset was a bit surprised to know that they didn't know anything but after taking a deep breath he explained. "hmm... I see, so she didn't tell any of you, huh? well, you see... George, Flay's father... he's dead."

* * *

Please Review! It's the only way I know how many people have read this. Help me make it better. I'm open to comments, questions, suggestions, anything as long as you review it.

No flames, please respect that this is my Fic. Thank you!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


	16. Rising Tension

Chapter 16! Thanks for the reviews!

Has anyone of you guys ever read 'Double Identities' by Tsubame Ongaku? That fic was so great but it was dropped and after reading it, my mind is now being horribly tortured! I hate reading dropped stories but I can't help it if I fell for it! Damn it!

The worst crime an author could possibly commit is to drop their stories! It's evil, I tell you! EVIL!  
Curse you! Authors who drop their fics! (*shakes fist*)

Lolx! anyway, back to my own.

Read on with open minds, people. Thank you!

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 16: Rising Tension**

Cagalli and Shiho arrived back at the estate late in the afternoon, it was already dark. As Cagalli was on her way to her bedroom, she saw Kira leaning outside her door.

"he's here." he said.

"so I've heard." Cagalli opened her door and went in, leaving it open for Kira to follow.

he closed the door and said, "after the party tomorrow, we have to go back."

"why do you people keep on saying the same things?" she yelled before falling face down on her bed.

"you have to face reality... eventually. so, brace yourself." with that said, Kira exited the room.

"argh!" Cagalli threw a pillow at him but it only hit the closed door.

Kira took a deep sigh after hearing the thump then, he walked away. before he turned to a corner, the door in front of Cagalli's room opened revealing Shiho, who just stared at Kira's back until he was out of sight then, she looked at Cagalli's door.

That night, Cagalli skipped dinner and just fell asleep like that. She was tired of it all, everyone was against her and even fate doesn't seem to favor her even just a little bit.

Athrun, on the other hand, ate dinner with his parents in silence. He just kept his face into his plate and even if he didn't really feel like eating right now, he has no other options, he didn't want to insult his father by not being there when it was very rare for them to get together. Every once in a while, he would look up and glance at his mother, depression, disappointment and great confusion mixed with deep feelings of inquisitiveness.

It was obvious that Lenore was always aware of his stares but she just neglected and went on happily discussing matters with her husband. It's as if she didn't care at all but Athrun knew she wouldn't normally act like this so, he decided to just hope for the best.

A little while later, Lenore mentioned about the disappearance of Flay which somehow got Athrun's attention, she was a friend of Calla after all.

"don't worry, I'm sure she'll be here tomorrow." Patrick assured his wife.

"what do you mean?" Lenore asked.

"what happened was a tragedy and was completely unexpected but I'm sure she won't let that affect her decisions." he answered.

"I'm not sure I follow what you mean." Lenore said in a worried tone. Athrun looked up at them.

Patrick eye brows furrowed. "I see, you haven't heard yet. Her father just died."

Lenore and Athrun's eyes grew wide at the realization of the news and not far from them, Kira heard everything.

* * *

_"finally, it's time..."_ Mir collected her thoughts as she stepped on her shoes and faced the mirror, it was already the time for the party.

Just then, Stella entered, she was already wearing her cornflower blue gown with matching ribbons in her hair. She was there to fetch Mir, so they could proceed to the Zala estate with the guys. They wanted to come a few hours early to wait for Flay there.

When Stella came in, Mir was still staring at herself in front of the mirror, she was wearing a deep peach gown with a v-shape neckline. She noticed Stella but didn't bother looking back since she could see her in the mirror.

"you ready?" Mir asked.

Stella nodded and said, "Stella's all set."

"good." she took a deep breath and faced Stella. "Is Le Creuset coming with us?" she then, started walking out the door.

"yes, he said he'll talk to the Chairman so he needs to be early as well." Stella followed.

"what about the boys?" Mir inquired.

"they'll be present but they're all off duty." she answered in a low volume.

"as planned." Mir finished for her.

Stella suddenly stopped, halfway through the stairs. "Stella isn't sure if we should really do this?"

Mir looked back. "me too, but Flay came back for this... so, we should just go on. besides, we need to check up on those two as well."

Stella opened her mouth to reply but before she was able to, Shinn, Dearka and Yzak came out from the living room, they were all wearing suits.

"wow! you girls look great!" Dearka exclaimed, smiling widely at Mir.

Mir just stared at him with half-lidded eyes and continued walking down, passing Dearka as she went straight to the direction of the door.

"what's wrong with her?" Shinn asked as Stella got down as well.

"Stella hopes that this doesn't turn out as bad as the engagement party last time." she said.

"we all hope for the best." Shinn replied as he offered her his arm, Stella nodded then smiled as she took his arm and they walked off. Dearka and Yzak followed.

"this is going to be a long night." Dearka muttered with a sigh.

When they got there, Mir was already sitting beside Le Creuset inside the limousine. Rey was in the driver's seat with Nicol beside him. Stella got inside and sat in front of Mir. Shinn, Dearka and Yzak followed as they went off.

* * *

Athrun still wasn't sure about what he was suppose to tell Calla, the fact that he could do nothing against his father's will killed him inside. Truly, he was very excited for this day to come since he had Calla for his date but now that he is aware of his father's plans for him, he was not so sure anymore if he would actually enjoy this night.

He paced back and forth his room, trying to figure out the right words to say. He wanted Calla to be the first to know of his predicament, he wouldn't want her to get the wrong ideas, especially now that he knows her problems. He bit his lower lip in frustration as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was looking pretty good for a guy who wants to die right now.

Just then, a knock disrupted him from his thoughts.

"Master Athrun, it's me, Chris." the guy from the door said.

_"Chris... the brother who wants to bring his sister back home..."_ he thought to himself as he opened the door. "yes, what is it?" he looked at him with great regard, noticing that he didn't look like a butler at all when wearing a suit like that.

"I just came to inform you that your friends have arrived, they're all waiting in the guest room." he said.

"I see, thank you." he answered as he followed Kira to the room.

While walking, there was dead silence between the two of them. Kira really wanted to become great friends with Athrun but he can't get too comfortable with him knowing that this guy is one of the biggest obstacles for why his sister didn't want to come back.

He knows that this guy might actually be a good choice for his sister because he is very reliable and trustworthy and if the engagements weren't an issue, he might actually set them up on his own. However, that wasn't the case and time was running out. Still, he can't blame Athrun for falling for his sister, he can't blame his sister for falling for this guy, either. They were not the ones at fault, it was just the inevitable circumstance. It's all out of their hands.

_"It's just an engagement... it's not like they'll get married, right? we can still do something... but what?"_ As Kira diverged himself to his feelings of sympathy for the two, he suddenly felt Athrun stopped walking behind him.

"do you really have to take her back?" Athrun muttered, looking down at the floor.

Kira swallowed hard before answering, "I'm sorry." he didn't even look back. then, he continued to walking, not bothering anymore if the guy would follow or not.

Athrun clutched his fists at his answer, but he himself can't do much about his own problem so he decided to just let it go. It's not like they have to marry once the engagement is made anyway, right? Something could still happen, at least that's what he's hoping for.

When they got to the room, Kira knocked and opened the door. Mir, Stella, Rey, Shinn, Dearka, Yzak and Nicol were there. Mir and Stella quickly stood as they saw Kira and went up to him.

"have you heard?" Mir asked.

"yes..." he looked down.

"where is she?" Stella asked.

"not here yet." he answered again in a low voice.

The room fell in deep silence, none of them knew what to say anymore... until Dearka broke it which he always does.

"so... this is still going to be a party, right?" almost all them glared at him for that but they were all a bit thankful deep down, he eased the negative emotions everyone kept inside.

"where's Commander, by the way?" Athrun asked.

"he's currently with Chairman Zala, right now." Rey answered.

"I see." he muttered.

Mir didn't like this awkward feeling herself so she decided to ask of Cagalli. "where's your sister?" she looked at Kira.

"well..." Kira exchanged glances with Athrun before replying. "she'll get here... eventually."

* * *

Meyrin was merrily twirling around the room in her lavender dress while Luna and Shiho were helping Cagalli in fixing her hair. At first, they wanted to tie it all up but Cagalli didn't want to look much like a princess right now so she refused and begged to just let it flow so they did.

"Meyrin, stop fooling around and come help us." Luna called for her sister's attention.

"yeah, you were the one who came up with the idea of dressing Calla up." Shiho added as she was tying a ribbon on Cagalli's hair.

"I'm sure you can handle that, Calla's beautiful whether she's all fixed up or not, anyway." she sat on the bed.

"I'm sorry you girls have to help me fix myself, you don't really have to." Cagalli said as she looked down.

"don't say that, we love dressing you up! besides, tonight is a special night for you and Master Athrun." Luna winked at her and she blushed.

"well, I don't know about that..." she muttered as she got up and looked at herself in the mirror.

"you look really beautiful Calla!" Meyrin jumped on her back.

"thanks, you too." she said.

"we all look great! Duh!" Luna pushed Shiho so then the four of them were facing the mirror.

Luna was wearing a mauve dress much similar to her sister's but it didn't have the frills, Shiho was wearing a sophisticated maroon dress and Cagalli was wearing a strapless light green dress which had a big white ribbon on the side. While putting on the final touches onto themselves, they heard a loud knock from the door.

"anytime now, girls?" Sting pounded on the door.

"yeah, in case you forgot the party is tonight! and not tomorrow!" Auel added.

Luna marched up at the door and opened it. "don't you guys have any brains at all? we need this time so be patient!" she yelled.

"oh, come on! you girls have been in there for hours now." Auel yelled back.

"it's fine, we're all set." Shiho got inbetween the three.

Meyrin turned to Cagalli, "let's go!" she flashed a bright smile.

Cagalli nodded and smiled back then, she took a last look in the mirror. _"tonight, I'm telling Athrun."_

They all exited the room and went to the hall. Cagalli was at the back when Shiho decided to fall back to walk by her side.

"nervous?" she asked.

"a little... it's been a while since I've come to parties like this." she answered.

Shiho looked at her. "really? that means you've been to parties as exclusive like this before, right?"

Cagalli froze and stopped walking, realizing that she just gave out something about herself. She thought of coming up with an excuse but she couldn't come up with any then, Shiho broke her out of her thoughts.

"don't worry, your secret is safe with me." she looked back at Cagalli and smiled. "this could be the last time you're here, so just enjoy it..." she then placed her hands on Cagalli's shoulders, "go to him and have fun, cause you don't want to regret this."

Cagalli's eyes started to water, she was so shocked and touched by the words of a friend, whom she kept secrets from. She didn't tell anyone about who she is but now that she wanted to she can't even say anything.

"thank you." she whispered and Shiho nodded.

"what the hell are you two standing there for? come on!" Auel yelled as they noticed that the two feel behind.

"yeah, we're there!" Cagalli yelled back holding her tears. _"Athrun... everyone... to have met all of you was the happiest thing that ever happened. whatever happens, I'm so happy that I made that decision and I'm never gonna regret it, I swear."_

* * *

As Athrun, Kira, Nicol, Dearka, Yzak, Shinn, Rey, Stella and Mir were making their way into the ballroom, they were greeted by the lovely voice of Lacus. She was singing 'Fields of Hope' for the opening ceremonies of the Pre-celebration. Indeed, it was a wonderful choice of music to grace this celebration for the unity of the world. Lacus was singing with all of her grace on the big stage, everyone felt the sincerity of her every word and they all applauded cheerfully at the end of it.

"that was so beautiful... if it weren't for all these tension, this would be such a great event." Mir said as she looked down.

Kira put his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. "this is a celebration for the world, let's think about the problems later."

Mir smiled with furrowed eye brows. "but—"

"no buts, that's an order." Kira cut her off.

Mir laughed, "I guess, we'll be in a lot of trouble when we get back, huh?"

"that's why we should enjoy this time while we still can... I'm sure Flay would understand." his eyes softened as Mir nodded.

This conversation didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the group, especially Athrun and the bodyguards.

"he gave Mir an order?" Dearka muttered, Rey and Yzak heard him.

Athrun and Nicol were staring at Kira until they shifted their attention to Shinn as he approached Stella.

Shinn whispered to Stella, "what's going on?"

"you'll know... soon."

* * *

After Lacus had went down the stage, she was greeted by a lot of people. Cagalli, Shiho, Luna, Meyrin, Sting and Auel watched her from the sides.

"she is so beautiful!" Auel exclaimed.

"yeah, I want an autograph!" Meyrin grabbed Auel by the arm and dragged him away.

"they're hopeless." Sting commented as he eyed the two.

"yeah but that's all right, this is a party after all." Luna said.

"guess we should be thankful to the Zalas... so, wanna dance?" he turned to her and offered a hand.

"sure!" Luna accepted as she took his hand.

"what about you two?" Sting looked at Shiho and Cagalli.

"thanks for asking but we're fine, just have fun!" Shiho answered and with that Sting and Luna were gone.

she then, turned to Cagalli. "let's go find Master Athrun, I'm sure he's around here somewhere."

Cagalli smiled at her, "sure..." it was obvious that she was still a bit worried, so Shiho tried to boost her up.

"don't worry princess... you are truly beautiful tonight and I'm sure everything will be fine." after saying that, Shiho was expecting Cagalli's expression to brighten up but she was surprised when the expression showed to her was more of a shock. She wondered if it was because she suddenly called her a princess then, she realized that Cagalli wasn't staring at her but behind her. She looked back and there he was.

"Athrun..." Cagalli muttered.

* * *

By the way, if you feel like it, you can check out my new avatar pic, Cagalli has long hair in it and she's naked in Athrun's arms! And there's a link there too so you could see the entire picture, if you really wanna see it that is... I also posted AsuCaga's profile there, it includes the origins of their names and some interesting trivias, just so you know...

Please Review! It's the only way I know how many people have read this. Help me make it better. I'm open to comments, questions, suggestions, anything as long as you review it.

No flames, please respect that this is my Fic. Thank you!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


	17. A Vengeful Comeback

Chapter 17! Thanks for the reviews!

I had a really hard time updating, that was kinda complicated. Lol. Hope they can fix that error soon! By the way, thank you so much littlemsstrawberry! If it wasn't for you, I won't be able to update.

Also, I couldn't have done it without the link of muggle405! Thanks a lot!

My deepest gratitude goes to littlemsstrawberry, muggle405, Effiron, Slashguy and Monkey in a Jumpsuit! This chapter is whole-heartedly dedicated to the five of you! I love you all!

Read on with open minds, people. Thank you!

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 17: A Vengeful Comeback**

Athrun was just standing there, staring at her. He had to admit that for a maid, Cagalli was the most beautiful girl in the grand ballroom. The only reason why her beauty seemed to go unnoticed is because of the dim lights, if that weren't the case he knew every men in there would be looking at her. He was so happy inside, he forgot about everything, his problems, his engagement, his father, nothing matters anymore because Cagalli was in front of him and that's all he thanked the Gods for.

For what seemed forever, he was obliviously gazing at her, he didn't even hear what Shiho said, he didn't hear anything! no matter how loud the orchestra was playing behind the stage, no matter how many people chatted away, he didn't notice anything at all! because Cagalli was there and she was beautiful. In other words, he was dazed and was completely making a fool out of himself and a very good looking fool that is.

The opening ceremonies weren't finish yet, Cagalli knew she had to get out of sight the moment the lights go normal or else she wants to risk being the center of attention. She waited for Athrun to make his move, to say something about what he heard, about what Shiho said but no. No movements came from him, he was frozen there, stuck in his position, it was even hard to tell if he was still breathing! and that irritated Cagalli.

_"what? what the hell is he staring at? what is he waiting for?" _she yelled in her mind.

Shiho turned to her, "I think it would be best if you get out of here while you still can, take him somewhere you two can talk and I'll do what I can to handle the rest." she smiled.

"but that's... thank you very much for everything, I have this feeling that all this time you were—" she was cut short by Shiho's reply.

"let's talk about all that later, right now just lead him out of here and talk. I have a feeling he's not gonna budge there for a long while if you don't go get him." they giggled together then, Cagalli nodded and went to Athrun.

Cagalli encircled her arm in Athrun's and dragged him out of the hall to a very familiar place.

* * *

Seeing their exit, Shiho finally let out the breath she's been holding since the scenario took on what it seemed like a hill.

_"everything is now up to you, princess... now, let's see..."_ Shiho was pondering on how she should approach Kira when she was pulled out of her thoughts by a hand that grabbed her by the shoulder. She then turned to face an angry Yzak.

"Athrun may have been too busy in his happy world to hear anything but unlike him we're not suckers, so care to explain?" with that he pulled her out into the corridor with Nicol and Rey following behind them.

Apparently, they were watching Lacus and as she went down the stage Athrun caught sight of Cagalli and obviously went off without any warning. Rey noticed this and he signaled for Yzak, when Yzak looked, Nicol looked as well and saw Shiho so he informed them and they followed Athrun.

"spit it out! tell us everything you know!" Yzak slammed both of his hands at the wall behind Shiho as he cornered her with his arms.

"must you be so violent? I did tell Dearka that I would talk to you guys, right? there is no need to be so harsh with me!" Shiho yelled back at his face as they were so close.

"she's right, you know." Rey sided with her.

"yeah... take it easy, we've got time." Nicol added.

"fine!" Yzak backed off as he crossed his arms. "now, talk."

Shiho took a deep breath to calm herself then she asked. "before I start explaining, where are the other two?"

* * *

Cagalli and Athrun went to, where else? the rooftop of course. It was the safest place Cagalli could think of and it was also the most memorable place for the two of them.

Cagalli held Athrun's hand the whole way there and now she's still holding tight to it as they went near the railings. it was a cool night with winds gently brushing to their faces as they looked over to the great scenery of the night inside the Plants. Colorful lights were glittering in the distance, tall buildings created an attractive silhouette pattern of different shapes and sizes, it was remarkable sight.

Cagalli could no longer take the silence, she honestly wanted to say it now but she didn't know where to start.

_"say it now! you're brave aren't you? what happens next doesn't matter! just say it! and get it over with! damn you!"_ after a few more curses, she finally heaved the deepest breath she could possibly muster.

"Calla." Athrun spoke first.

"yeah?" she didn't want to look.

"I want you to know that you are the most beautiful girl in the world..." he took her hand in his and kissed it as she faced him.

"Athrun!" Cagalli blushed furiously, looking away.

Athrun chuckled, "and now you're just the cutest." he teased, touching her cheeks with the tip of his fingers which only made Cagalli's blush worse. Then, he tilted her face and kissed her, his hands went around her waist and they deepened their kiss. It was a kiss filled with longing, even though they were not really parted, they still felt the need to fill the void caused by their guilt.

After they parted, Athrun stepped back and bowed. Then, he took her hands again and asked. "may I have this dance?"

Cagalli flushed out at first but accepted his hand and they danced. Although they were dancing in the rooftop, they could still hear the music, thanks to it's volume and because they were just directly on top of the hall.

_"I'll wait until this dance is over... that's when I'll tell him, right."_ Cagalli told herself for the umpteenth time already that she was gonna tell him then and there but she was again pulled out of her thoughts by Athrun.

"Calla? Is there something bothering you? you've been spacing out for a while now." Athrun started. _"I gotta tell her now."_

"well, you've spaced out back there too!" Cagalli turned the tables.

"yeah, but that's your fault." Athrun suddenly blushed at the realization of what he just said.

"and how was it my fault? I didn't ask you to make a fool out of yourself." Cagalli was also blushing at this point, she knew what he was trying to say.

Athrun didn't answer, he didn't want to embarrass himself any more than he already did and after a few moments of awkward silence, he started again. "Calla... you know I love you, right?"

"yeah, you've told me a lot of times before." Cagalli looked away, her face even redder than humanly possible.

Athrun chuckled a little, "you know, that whatever happens I still love you, right?"

"where are you going with this Athrun? get to the point!" by this time their dance was over.

Athrun swallowed hard, "listen, my father made a decision for me and told me just yesterday." he studied her face.

"parents are all alike, I guess..." she was reminded of her own father's decision.

"I think you already know where I'm going with this?" he asked, trying to make sure.

"I think I do too but I don't wanna think like that so just say it." Cagalli looked down.

_"damn it!"_ he cursed inside, "Calla, I'm getting engaged." he gritted his teeth at the last word.

Cagalli bit her lip, tears forming in her eyes. "that's pretty expected... you are the son of the Chairman of the Plants... so, I guess this is goodbye then, I think I'll have no other options but to go back with my brother as well..." Cagalli leaned her head on Athrun's chest. _"I guess, there's no more need for me to tell him, it'll just make everything more complicated. we won't be together anyway... after tonight, Calla will disappear forever for she never even existed in the first place... I'm sorry, Athrun..."_ she thought inside as she started crying.

"don't worry, it's just an engagement. I'm not gonna get married, no way... please, don't cry." he held her in a tight embrace and they stayed there for a moment, wishing time would freeze so they could never part.

* * *

The other two, namely Dearka and Shinn were enjoying themselves, dancing with Mir and Stella, respectively. At first, Mir declined but Kira gave her a look and then she later found herself in Dearka's arms, dancing waltz like there were no problems at all. Shinn and Stella on the other hand just wanted to enjoy each other's company while they still can, for tonight could be the last night they'll see each other.

Kira was left scanning the crowd, he noted in his mind all the prominent figures he could find from all organizations. _"of course, Chairman Zala is here with his wife... Commissioner Durandal with Le Creuset... Siegel Clyne, Lacus' father with other members of the Supreme Council, Eileen Canaver, Ezalia Joule, Tad Elsman, Yuri Amalfi, they're all in one table..."_ he looked at the other side of the room. _"Djibril is here too? and he's with Yuna and Azrael... damn it!"_ then, he noticed Lacus who looked really tired from going around talking to people, he approached her and asked her to dance which she happily accepted.

"enjoying the night so far?" he casually asked her.

"well, yes of course. this is a very meaningful celebration and we don't really get to do something like this very often." she answered with a smile.

"hmm... you're right but I think it would be better if you enjoy yourself too, rather than going around trying to please everyone." he said with a concerned look.

"you noticed that, huh? I just want everyone to enjoy this night for this in one night I hope we'll all never forget." she said with a twinkle in her eye.

"don't worry, I assure you this night will indeed be unforgettable." he said knowingly.

After their dance, the music suddenly changed into a pop one, Meer Campbell took over the stage and started singing the remix version of 'Shizuka na yoru ni'. It was a bit awkward since the song was upbeat but they decided to just shrug away that feeling since it was suppose to be a happy celebration anyway.

Kira and Lacus decided to sit on a table near the stage, they were later joined by Dearka, Mir, Shinn and Stella who also decided that the current music doesn't suit dancing with partners anymore.

By the time they were all seated, Yzak, Rey, Nicol and Shiho came from the corridor and walked towards them. Dearka and Shinn quickly stood up and the six of them went away, leaving Mir, Stella, Kira and Lacus there.

"I wonder, what's going on? they looked really serious." Lacus commented.

"I sure hope they don't harass her." Mir joked as she sipped some champagne.

"Stella thinks they're not like that." she was picking petals off the rose centerpiece.

_"it's starting... tonight, everything will be revealed."_ Kira thought to himself.

* * *

After few moments, they reached the balcony in the corner of the hall.

"well, we're waiting..." Yzak scoffed.

Shiho again calmed herself before opening her mouth to explain. "you guys can be trusted, right?" she started.

"why must we hear that every time, do we look that unreliable?" Shinn snapped.

Shiho frowned. "well to be blunt, yes."

"what?" Yzak and Shinn reacted in unison.

"relax guys, that's the reason they don't trust us." Dearka commented.

Yzak and Shinn glared at him.

"anyway, can you start explaining now?" Nicol asked.

"sure." she answered.

However, just as she was about to tell them the big secret she caught a glimpse of someone familiar and instantly her gaze followed the person's direction which led to the table where Kira, Lacus, Mir and Stella were at. Then, she noticed Lacus was seemingly having an argument with a girl who had long grayish blue hair.

"well, what are you waiting for?" Yzak turned her attention back at the bodyguards.

"guys, I think you don't need my explanation anymore." she said knowingly.

"what do you mean? you're not gonna tell us anything?" Shinn asked, he was starting to get irritated.

"let's go back inside, she's here!" with that Shiho turned her back at them and hurriedly walked to the hall.

"what the hell was that?" Yzak snapped.

"she said she's here, do you think she meant..." Nicol trailed off as they went after Shiho.

* * *

Kira was starting to lose his cool with all the insults the girl kept on saying, Lacus was fighting back but they were starting to attract unwanted attention, they didn't want to make a scene.

"I can't believe you're dating butlers now, my... how high your standards are..." she smirked as she kept on with her insults.

"Meer, please... if you want to insult me, stick to me and don't involve anyone else." Lacus defended.

"well, I was just asking him where Athrun is, it's impossible that he doesn't know." she whined.

"I'm telling you, we're off duty for tonight and it's true that I haven't yet seen him again after we parted earlier." Kira reasoned.

"why would servants be off duty in the first place? this is a party of the most powerful and influential people in the galaxy! why are you peasants partying with us?" she smirked even more after saying this statement.

"how dare you say that? you don't even know him!" Mir stood.

"Mir, don't... just leave her..." Kira pulled her to sit down.

This time, Lacus was already at her limit, she stood up and faced her. "Meer, aren't you ashamed of yourself? this is a celebration for unity, that's why it's an open party where anyone can come and rejoice. you don't have the right to belittle anyone... Athrun's really not here and even if he is, I'm sure he wouldn't want to be with you, either."

"oh yeah? says you!" she grunted.

Then Meer threw her drink at Lacus but someone quickly got in the way.

"the one night I was forced to wear the exact opposite of my color scheme and you just had to spill your drink on me... nice."

It was Flay.

* * *

Please Review! It's the only way I know how many people have read this. Help me make it better. I'm open to comments, questions, suggestions, anything as long as you review it.

No flames, please respect that this is my Fic. Thank you!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


	18. Revelations

Chapter 18!

littlemsstrawberry: I'm sorry if it's a bit confusing but I'd like to clarify that the only pair who had been mentioned as engaged, so far, are Nicol and Flay. Rest assured that everything will make perfect sense in the end, which is really near now.

Thank you so much to all of my reviewers! This fic went over a hundred reviews already! You guys don't know how happy I am right now! (*cries hysterically then laughs*) I love you all!

Read on with open minds, people. Thank you!

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 18: Revelations**

Cagalli took off her heels before she rested her head on Athrun's shoulder, they were once again sitting on the ground, leaning on the railings.

"I'll do anything to stop my engagement..." Athrun muttered loud enough for her to hear.

"don't bother." she whispered and he looked at her. "I can't stay here with you anyway... You'll only risk your relationship with your father." she said flatly.

"can't we do something about that? If we ask Chris, I'm sure he'll help us—" he was cut off.

"he won't, I doubt it... he's here to bring me back after all." she reminded him of reality.

Athrun frowned as he heaved a sigh, Cagalli looked up at him.

"I'm sorry." she said.

"what for?" he asked, surprised.

"because I'm always making things hard for you." tears were starting to form again, Athrun saw this and his decision was made.

"this may be futile... but I don't have anything to lose and even if I do, I don't think I would care." he stood up.

"what are you talking about?" she asked, taking his hand to get up.

Before he answered, he got down to pick up Cagalli's shoes then, he put them on her feet.

"Athrun!" Cagalli blushed at his actions.

"Calla..." he started, as he finished securing her feet and stood.

He looked into her eyes and took her hand in his, "Thank you so much for bringing yourself in to my life, you don't know how happy I am that I met you..."

Cagalli's eyes widened as she heard his sweetest words, staring deep into his gentle and loving eyes.

he smiled and gave her a quick kiss as he continued, "I love you and I will do anything for you... anything..."

he pulled back. "that's why..." he then, cupped her face and looked straight at her. "I'll introduce you to my father tonight."

Cagalli was shocked. "eh?"

Athrun smirked to himself then, he tightly held her hand and took her with him. "I don't care anymore, about whatever happens!"

* * *

Shiho, along with the five bodyguards, ran up to them just to stop behind Kira as they watched Flay's interference. Mir and Stella were behind Lacus. They were all stunned, not at Flay's sudden appearance but at her effort on shielding Lacus which obviously came out very unexpected by everyone.

"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry! I didn't mean for you to be—it's not you that I..." Meer struggled for words when she made a mistake of throwing her drink at someone else.

"it's all right, no big deal. I was just looking for a valid excuse to leave this boring party anyway. And now I have it, all thanks to you." she smirked.

Noone got between them, it wasn't everyday that two mean girls would clash and they wanted to see who wins.

"place your bet, guys. This is gonna be a good one." Dearka whispered to the guys behind him.

"Flay already won." Kira whispered back at him.

"eh? what do you mean?" Shinn asked, Nicol looked intently at his back.

"can't you see it? she's already wearing a victory smile." he sighed. "she's not gonna let Meer just walk away though."

Just then, a sweat drop rolled down from Meer's forehead, it became apparent that she somehow felt intimidated.

"Stella feels sorry for Meer." she muttered as she watched Flay flip her hair.

"My name is Flay Allster, by the way. You are?" Flay stretched out a hand.

Meer just looked at it with disbelief. "you don't know who I am?" she asked sounding irritated.

"No. Why? Are you supposed to be famous or something?" Flay took back her hand, crossing it with the other.

"How dare you? I am Meer Campbell and I am a famous singer! What kind of a rock have you been living under to not know about—" before she could finish her insult, she stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"what do you think you're doing, Meer?" it was Durandal with Le Creuset standing behind him.

"Commissioner! I was just telling this girl that—"

"Flay, you're here?" He cut her off again, shoving her aside as he went near Flay.

"Gil!" Flay flashed a bright smile.

"eh?" was all that Meer could mutter as she was ignored. _"she called him Gil...?"_

"what happened?" Le Creuset asked as he eyed the big stain of red wine all over her white tube dress.

"I'm fine, Uncle... just a little sticky." she answered with a bright smile. The she shifted her gaze at Meer who grunted when she looked at her and stomped away.

"guess that means Flay is the best meanie around." Dearka chuckled as Rey and Yzak glared at him.

After a while, a man called for Durandal and Le Creuset, so they went away saying that they would talk to her again after the party. She nodded as they left. Then, she turned to Kira and the others.

"thank you so much, Flay." Lacus came up to her smiling sweetly as she offered a tissue.

Flay snatched it. "oh, please. I didn't do it for you." then, she looked at Kira. "you owe me."

He chuckled. "I figured you'd say something like that." he offered her a seat.

Flay sat near the corner of the table beside Kira, in front if Mir. On the other side of Kira sat Lacus then, Stella beside Shinn. Dearka pushed Nicol to sit beside Flay but before he was able to, Shiho already sat there.

"where's Calla?" Flay asked as she looked around.

"somewhere with Athrun." Kira answered.

"I see."

"how have you been? we all heard about the news, why didn't you say anything?" Kira asked as they all turned to her.

"fine, I just wanted to get it all over with before the Treaty-signing." she sipped some champagne.

She didn't really answer the other question and they all know that but none chose to say anything, they were all aware that it's a hard subject to talk about and Flay doesn't have any intentions in making it any easier.

"so... why are you wearing white?" Mir asked trying to change the subject.

"I came here with Yuri and Romina, they picked me up at the shuttle port earlier and forced me to wear this." Flay answered flatly.

"I see." Mir realized that she only made the tension rise more.

She glanced at Nicol but when he noticed her she looked away and this just made everything worse. He knows that she knows that he knows. Then, he looked over at Flay and was relieved that she didn't seem to notice how he exchanged glances with Mir.

"what the hell is going on?" Dearka whispered at him, apparently he saw what happened.

"I don't know." Nicol whispered back.

"Maybe Mir knows but if she does then..." Rey trailed off as he saw Chris looking at him and then looked away.

"did you see that?" Dearka asked.

"we all did." Yzak answered.

Suddenly, Flay stood from her seat which got everyone's attention again. "I think I need to go to the washroom now, I don't want this to just dry." with that she excused herself but before leaving she exchanged glances with Shiho and Shiho responded with a nod. This didn't go unnoticed of course.

"looks like they have an understanding." Rey muttered.

"yeah, everyone seems to know something." Dearka agreed.

"and they're not letting any of us into it." Yzak added as they eyed how Flay made her exit.

_"weird... she went out after..."_ Kira thought to himself as he stared at Flay's back, closing the door behind her.

* * *

Athrun was almost dragging Cagalli through the corridors on their way to the ballroom.

"Athrun! I don't think this is really necessary, let's just go back, please!" Cagalli was trying hard to free her hand from Athrun's grasp but he was just too strong.

"don't worry, Calla. I know what I'm doing. I won't let him insult you." Athrun pulled her again.

"that's not what I'm worried about!" she screamed.

"then, what is it?" he stopped and looked back at her. "what are you so afraid of?" he asked in a more softer tone. "I'll be here, no matter what happens, just trust me."

She looked deep into his eyes, she could see his sincerity and immeasurable love, she then, felt more guilt than before. They fell silent. Suddenly, they heard the door opening, Cagalli panicked and pulled Athrun into a corner. They watched how three men made their exit. It was Djibril, Yuna and Azrael, altogether.

Cagalli's eyes narrowed at the sight of them and Athrun noticed this.

"this sucks! I can't even get near her because of those bastards. Not to mention, her uncle is here too with the Commissioner if I may add." Azrael stretched his arms.

"well, at least you know she's still alive, my girl's nowhere in sight." Yuna commented as they walked away.

"I can't believe she got engaged to that wimp, did you see him?" Azrael turned to Yuna.

"yeah, he looks like a girl!" Yuna answered as the two of them laughed.

"I am so not gonna let those lab-rats have her." Azrael said with a tone of disgust.

_"Lab-rats? are they talking about coordinators?" _Athrun couldn't believe what he's hearing.

"yeah, we gotta do something about the Treaty-signing." Yuna added.

"don't worry, you'll have your girls as soon as we finish with our plans... the Treaty-signing is two days, I am so excited." Djibril smirked.

As the three men walked farther away, Cagalli and Athrun came out of hiding. Before going inside, they wanted to wait until the three were out of sight Then, all of a sudden, Flay came out from the ballroom. Cagalli and Athrun saw that she seemed to be looking for something, then she started following the three men and disappeared.

"why do you think she followed them?" Cagalli asked.

"who knows? but if it's Flay she should be fine." Athrun answered without thoughts.

"I guess... but—" she was cut off when Athrun pulled on her hand again.

"let's go." he said opening the door.

* * *

They were all just sitting there in such an awkward silence.

"this champagne is really good, who ordered it?" Lacus commented, trying to break the ice.

"Shiho and Calla were the ones assigned for that." Kira answered.

"I see." she responded.

"we got that from the a random shop down the streets of the shopping district, we were in a hurry that time." Shiho added as she glanced at Dearka, then looked at Mir.

_"passing secret messages again..."_ Kira chuckled as he took a sip of his wine.

Suddenly, Stella stood from her seat, gathering all of their attention. "they're here." she said and pointed at Athrun who was currently making his way through the crowd with Cagalli by his side, their direction was the table of the council members where Chairman Zala was seated.

"damn it!" Mir almost yelled as her chair fell back when she stood. She hurriedly went around the table but was hindered by Kira's arm, she looked at him, questioningly.

"it's about time, don't you think?" he said as he smiled.

"but Kira!" Mir said out loud then, covered her mouth when she realized that everyone heard her, she looked back.

"yes, that's right." he paused and looked at the others. "My real name is Kira." he said with a confident smile then, his eyebrows furrowed. "sorry to have lied to you guys."

"Kira? you're Kira?" Dearka muttered.

"you know him?" Yzak turned to him.

"ahh... kinda?" he smiled sheepishly.

"Kira!" Mir called.

"what's important is that Flay's mission is a success." he said as they all payed attention.

"you knew?" Mir was a bit shocked then she muttered. "I guess that's expected of you."

Kira chuckled as he turned to look at the direction of Athrun and Cagalli.

Athrun and Cagalli had just reached the table, their arrival got all of the attention of everyone seated as Chairman Zala stood from his seat to face Athrun.

"father, I'm sorry for disturbing you like this but I just want you to meet—" Athrun was cut off by his father's sudden words.

"Princess Cagalli!" Patrick exclaimed.

"eh?" Athrun was struck by great wonder as Cagalli could only bite her lip.

"I am so honored that you graced this wonderful celebration with your presence!" He went over to Cagalli, neglecting Athrun and kissed the back of her hand.

Cagalli had mixed feelings of embarrassment, guilt and relief. Embarrassed because of what Chairman Zala did, Guilt because of her lies to Athrun and Relief because it's all finally over.

"what's going on?" Athrun asked staring at Cagalli.

"I'm sorry, Athrun." she said, as tears started to well up on the corners of her eyes again then, she looked away, turning her attention to the council members who started encircling her.

Athrun was pushed aside, staring at her back with great disbelief and shock. Then, he felt someone's hand on his shoulder.

"sorry you had to find out this way." it was Kira.

Athrun looked at him, his eyes still wide. "and you are... Kira, am I right?" his voice was shaking.

"how'd you know?" he asked.

"I heard you once, talking with my mom." he said, looking down.

"I see." was all Kira could say before he was called by Siegel and Commissioner Durandal. "we'll talk to you later." he walked away.

Athrun was then, joined by the bodyguards who came there, following Kira.

"can you believe it? your butler and maid were the prince and princess of Orb." Dearka said as he put his hand on Athrun's shoulder.

"didn't expect things would turn out this way." Shinn commented as he got near them.

"yeah." Athrun managed to mutter.

After a few more acknowledgements, someone finally made the announcement. Kira and Cagalli were now on stage with Chairman Zala and the rest of the council members.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to announce to all of you that this wonderful event of ours was graced by the presence of the prince and princess of Orb!"

All heads turn to the twins as they bowed and thanked everyone who greeted them.

"wicked cool!" Auel exclaimed as he clapped his hands with Meyrin, Luna ad Sting by his side.

"yeah! we've been friends with them too!" Meyrin giggled.

"who would've thought..." Sting trailed off as they eyed the twins on center stage.

While clapping her hands, Mir noticed Meer's mouth wide opened so she went over to her and closed her mouth, giving her a smirk after that. No words were necessary, the truth being revealed then was already a great smack.

"I wonder where's Flay, she's missing so much." Mir said to herself as she scanned the crowd, turning her back at Meer.

"after this, we have to go home, right?" Stella asked.

"yeah." she turned to the guys beside them. "it was fun while it lasted guys, thanks for everything."

"what was fun? deceiving us?" Shinn said with narrowed eyes.

"now, don't be like that, it's not like you're affected... Besides, this is just the start... the Treaty-signing is what you guys really have to look forward to." she smiled.

"what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Yzak snapped but before anyone could respond they suddenly heard a loud bang, it was a gunshot.

All the guests started to panic and ran from different directions. The guards were all alerted and started rounding up the VIPs.

"Calla!" Athrun ran over to the stage, Shiho followed him.

"come on! we need to follow them!" Mir pulled Lacus and Stella. Then, the rest of the guys followed.

Athrun and Shiho reached the stage, Athrun pulled Cagalli and Shiho went to Kira.

"where's Flay?" Kira asked frantically as Shiho approached him.

"I don't know, she just told me to watch over you two!" she was practically yelling due to all the noise.

"we saw her went after Yuna and the other two earlier!" Cagalli yelled.

"damn it! she must think those guys must have something to do with the death of her father, she must be the one who fired that gun!" Kira said as he remembered Flay's exit earlier.

"that's not possible!" they all turned to Shiho. "she gave me her gun before she went missing!"

Kira's eyes widened as he started to run to the direction of the gunshot. "all of you guys go on! I'll find her!"

"I'm coming with you!" Nicol ran after him.

They ran as fast as they could until they reached the room at the end of the corridor, they barged in and there she was, lying face down on the floor, bathing in her own blood.

"Flay!"

* * *

Please Review! It's the only way I know how many people have read this. Help me make it better. I'm open to comments, questions, suggestions, anything as long as you review it.

No flames, please respect that this is my Fic. Thank you!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


	19. Falling In The Right Place

Chapter 19! Thanks for the reviews!

Hazel K. Minleil: Oh, yeah. That was a mistake! thank you so much for correcting me, I edited it already...

Jodeist: I'm so sorry for the little inconvenience I'm causing you since I changed it but I can change it back if you want me to, just say it and I'll edit it as soon as this site has fixed it's problems.

Read on with open minds, people. Thank you!

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 19: Falling In The Right Place**

Cagalli was running through the hallways of the palace, she was wearing a simple yet elegant strapless green gown and her hair was all fixed up in a ball where her tiara was resting, of course she had a couple of bangs falling to the sides of her face. (like that in episode 19 of GS)

Two days have passed since the pre-celebration party and they have already made it back to Orb, by 'they' I meant Kira, Cagalli, Mir, Stella and Flay. Flay was confined in a hospital somewhere in Orb, she's been unconscious ever since she was found wounded and she doesn't seem to be waking up any time soon.

Going back to the day after the party, Chairman Zala, Commissioner Durandal and Le Creuset established an investigation regarding Flay's case. With the approval of the other council members, the team of the top elites were chosen for the job. The team consist's of Athrun, Nicol, Rey, Yzak, Dearka and Shinn. Athrun being the leader of course and Le Creuset as their Commander.

Since the new mission was a bit personal and their commander was somehow in thirst for revenge, the mission ended within only two days, with a minor casualty of Djibril dying in Le Creuset's hands. The other two, Yuna and Azrael were currently behind bars in a military facility in Orb. They have all been proven guilty of plotting retaliation against the Treaty, they were also accused of having something to do with the death of George Allster and obviously, they were the ones who shot Flay when she tried to confront them about the death of her father.

After the incident with Flay, the five bodyguards and Athrun were summoned immediately for that mission. At the same time, Chairman Zala gave out orders for Kira, Cagalli, Mir, Stella and Flay to be sent back to Orb as soon as possible which became the reason why none of them were able to talk to about it. They all just went on without really resolving anything and because of the problems surrounding them, none of them even tried to exert effort to do or even say anything.

Today is the day of the Treaty-signing, Chairman Zala, Commissioner Durandal and Le Creuset, along with the other members of the council and important officials, have just arrived in Orb. Cagalli was sure that Athrun would be there because he told her that he would be engaged and the engagements would be announced in the evening at a ball after everything was done.

She wanted to see him again, she wanted to make amends, she wanted to talk to him, explain and apologize. She wanted to tell him that she really did loved him with all of her heart, she wanted to say those three words to him so bad, even if it was for the last time.

"damn it!" she cursed under her breath as she kept on running.

* * *

Athrun, Lacus, Nicol, Rey, Shinn, Dearka, Yzak and Shiho were touring around the remote part of Orb, they were somewhere near the sea. None of them were in any hurry to get to the palace, none of them were mentally prepared for any encounter just yet. Well, except for Shiho, the reason she decided to go with them was to see Flay, talk to her and return her gun.

They were all in deep thought, their minds kept on flashing scenes from the time they had spent together in the Plants and silence was the only thing in the air since none of them were in the mood to talk.

_Flashback:_

_"why the hell did you have her gun in the first place?" Yzak yelled in Shiho's face, placing a tight grip on her shoulders as they confronted her after returning from their mission._

_"she just told me to hold onto it just in case something happens! even Miss Lenore agreed to it!" she yelled back at him._

_Nicol just watched intently, the scene that was taking place in front of him and Athrun could only curse._

_End of flashback._

They all decided to go to the sea, by Shinn's request, it was probably because they don't have that back on the Plants, he had heard a lot of stories about it from Stella who really loved the sea. Lacus was thrilled upon hearing Shinn's request so she went with them, after all, they had spare time.

Upon their arrival on the bay side, they quickly noticed a lone figure of a man. He was wearing a sky blue shirt with it's sleeves curled up to his elbows and white pants curled up to his knees as he was standing near the sea where the waves crash on his bare feet, his shoes were left on the sand, far from the reach of water. He was just standing there, both of his hands were in his pockets, facing the sea, staring up at the sky.

For no reason at all, they started to walk to his direction and when they got near enough, they recognized who he was.

"Chris..." Lacus muttered as she eyed the back of the man, this scene was somehow very familiar to her.

"no, his name is Kira." Athrun broke her out of her thoughts.

Hearing his name, Kira looked back at them. At first, his face was showing an expression of great wonder then, he turned to them and gave them a bright genuine smile. "hey... it's been a while, Master Athrun."

Athrun narrowed his eyes on him, it's not like he wanted to, he just did. And everyone else, with the exception of the two girls, gave him a weird look.

"you no longer need to address me as such, prince Kira." there was a bitter hint in his voice, especially at the word 'prince'.

Kira obviously noticed this, who wouldn't? But he understood them, they felt betrayed and fooled, even if he never intended for them to feel that way, it couldn't be helped. He was partly responsible.

he sighed. "then, please don't address me as such as well... it's kinda awkward..." he looked down then back at them. "you guys aren't still mad, are you?" he walked towards them.

"we're not mad... we understand things just fine but..." Athrun trailed off since he, himself didn't know what to say next.

"I can see that there's still hesitation in you." Kira was now in front of him.

"there are some things a person cannot accept even if he understands them, even me." Athrun said with frown, everyone's eye was on him.

They turned to look at Kira and waited for his reaction. Unexpectedly, Kira smiled with furrowed eyebrows then he said.

"there are a lot of unacceptable things in this world... but that's only because you don't want to accept them, it's not that you can't, you just don't want to." (Hah! beat that you corrupted GSD writers! *shakes fist*)

Athrun was bewildered with his response, he didn't even know how to react.

Kira continued. "what are you so afraid of, Athrun? wasn't it you who always suggested to ask for my help?"

Athrun's eyes widened and Kira looked straight at them. "I'm right here in front of you now, Athrun... what do you really want to say? what is it that you want to happen? just say it."

Athrun shivered but he wasn't afraid of Kira, he was moved.

They were amazed by Kira's words, it seemed so easy now that he had said that. Lacus was so happy, she went over to Kira and gave him a tight hug. Kira was surprised at first but returned it anyway.

Kira then. looked at Athrun, he was still staring at him. He chuckled. "so... do you want to see Cagalli now?"

Athrun just nodded and with that they went to the palace.

* * *

Inside a conference room, preparations for the live telecasting of the Treaty-signing was being made. Chief Representative Uzumi Nara Athha, Chairman Patrick Zala, Commissioner Gilbert Durandal, along with the complete members and officials of the Plant Supreme Council and the Orb Union, were now preparing themselves and their speeches for the big event.

In the sides, Le Creuset was intently watching everything, it was quite fascinating for him to see these people, his superiors and other prominent officials, be in such a state of excitement and anxiety, it made him chuckle for a few times already.

Then, he was approached by Lenore and Romina. He bowed his head to show respect and the two women did the same.

"this is quite entertaining don't you think?" Lenore stated, while Romina giggled.

"yes, very amusing indeed." Le Creuset was surprised that his thoughts were easily read by the two women.

"by the way, it's quite obvious that Flay had her way through her part of the deal... what about you?" Romina asked.

"well, I just did what you told me... I got Nicol to play his part— " he was cut shortly.

"but she doesn't seem to be backing out, quite stubborn just like you." Lenore cut him off.

Le Creuset sighed. "can't you just let her do what she wants? she's went through a lot already."

"but I already had high hopes for them... if things turn out to her advantage, I'm sure she'd push through with it." Romina replied.

"well, that's your son's fault... I already gave him a head-start and he didn't really do much." he defended.

"but thats because Flay's making this too hard for him." Romina defended as well.

"all right, that's enough. I'm sure we can still do something, it's not over yet." Lenore got inbetween them.

"well, I guess you're right." Le Creuset sighed.

"I hope Nicol wins over her... then, everything would be perfect." Romina muttered.

"yes, since everything has already been set for those other four..." Lenore nodded in agreement.

* * *

Mir and Stella were riding a car on their way to the palace, they just visited Flay and were very disappointed when they didn't find her there, it turns out that she checked out of the hospital this morning or rather, she sneaked out.

Upon arrival, they parked their car and hopped out, they were running in such a hurry that they didn't notice another car parking right after they did, until...

"Mir!" Dearka shouted as he got out of the first car. Yzak, Shinn, Rey and Nicol got out after him.

Mir looked back at him then, she noticed Kira coming out of the other car, followed by Lacus, Shiho and Athrun.

She hurriedly ran to Kira, unintentionally neglecting Dearka. "we have a problem!" she stated in panic.

"again?" Kira asked with his eyebrows furrowing.

"Flay sneaked out of the hospital!" she was panting.

Kira sighed. "I knew something like this was bound to happen... don't worry, I'm sure she just wanted to be present at the Treaty-signing. If she was strong enough to sneak out, then it's certain that she's strong enough to get here safely." with that Kira walked towards the entrance. "come on, guys." he said.

Lacus and Shiho were the first to follow, then Mir and Stella, and the rest of the guys.

"didn't you miss me?" Dearka asked as he caught up to Mir.

"you wish." Mir coldly replied.

Upon hearing this conversation, Stella turned to Shinn.

"Stella missed you!" she smiled and Shinn just blushed then he looked away, muttering his reply. "yeah, me too."

Watching this scenario, Yzak could just raise an eyebrow. Rey saw his reaction and chuckled.

"lighten up, dude. don't worry, you'll fine your girl too, someday." Rey teased.

"drop it, Rey. don't make me hurt you." Yzak glared at him.

Nicol just watched all of them from the back, Athrun was walking beside him.

"you all right?" Athrun asked Nicol.

He was startled at first, not expecting anyone to ask that. "yeah, I'm sure she's fine." he barely said it. "what about you?" he changed the topic.

Athrun sighed. "well, I'm pretty sure Kira would take my side after he said that. So, right now... yeah, I'm fine, great even." then, they exchanged smiles with each other.

Everyone else was already inside and they were just about to enter the main palace as well, when they suddenly heard something. They looked at each other first before deciding to look for the source of the noise. They didn't bother to call for everyone else's attention because they thought they'd just take a look at it.

When they got around a corner, they saw a shoe in the middle of the ground. They initially thought that someone probably threw it there, then they wondered, why?

Then, another shoe fell to the ground. It came from a balcony of one of the rooms in the palace, because of that Athrun and Nicol just stared at the balcony, they weren't thinking of any possibilities at all but they stared at it anyway.

Suddenly, a beautiful girl with blonde hair came to view, she was wearing a green gown and a tiara was tucked in her head. She looked over at her shoes then, she went back inside the room.

After a little while, she charged to the balcony, stepping onto the railing and jumping off. She held onto a branch of a tree which was just across the balcony then, she fell on the bushes.

"Ouch!" she said, getting up. "stupid tree! stupid bush! stupid rock! why'd you have to be there when I land?"

She started fixing herself. "stupid gown!" she then, pulled a twig which got stuck in her hair. "stupid tiara!" suddenly, she noticed her tiara wasn't in her hair, she looked up only to find that it got stuck in a branch.

She picked and threw some stones at it then, it fell and snapped. She took the pieces in her hands and cursed. "damn it!"

Walking over to her shoes, she continued cursing. "this was the most expensive that I own! Kisaka's gonna kill me!"

She started stepping into her shoes, the broken tiara was still in her hand. "stupid heels!" then, when she was securing her feet, one half of the tiara fell to the ground. After finishing wearing both of her shoes, she picked it up. "this is all Athrun's fault."

"And how did it became my fault?"

"because if it wasn't for— " she stopped when she heard his voice.

She slowly turned and after seeing Athrun and Nicol standing there, she just froze.

Athrun was just standing there, staring at her, he was once again, mesmerized. She was very beautiful, more beautiful than he remembered, although they have only been separated for two days. He was smiling at her, his face clearly showed how happy he was and Cagalli, she was just staring at him in complete shock.

Nicol chuckled to himself at witnessing such a scene, he turned to his back and was about to leave the two to have some privacy when he heard a voice calling out to Cagalli.

"Cagalli!" Flay came running from the back of the building, she stopped upon seeing the three.

Nicol looked back at her and so did Cagalli and Athrun.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Flay heaved a deep breath and was the one who made the first move.

Flay walked over to Athrun, passing Cagalli. While walking, she took out her phone and typed something into it, when she got in front of Athrun, she showed it to him.

Athrun's eyes widened at what he has read, when Flay saw this reaction she smiled and walked pass him. She went over to Nicol, encircled her arm into his and dragged him away with her. "Come on, Nicky."

But before they turned to the corner, Flay stopped at looked back. "by the way, I suggest you go to a more secure place to talk in private."

Cagalli and Athrun just stared at her. Then, Flay raised a hand and pointed a finger at somewhere. Athrun and Cagalli followed her direction which lead to the balcony that Cagalli just jumped off from.

There, on the balcony, leaning over the railings, was Kira. He was smiling brightly at the two of them, Lacus was by his side and everyone else was at the back part.

Apparently, they have heard Flay's yelling and have been watching the whole time. Kira waved his hand and turned to his back, walking towards the room, Lacus followed him and so did everyone else, but not without a tease of course.

"good luck, you two!" Dearka winked at the both of them which made the two blush furiously.

"damn you, Dearka!" Athrun quickly recovered.

Then it was Cagalli's turn, she glared at Flay and yelled. "you'll pay for this, Flay!"

Flay just responded with a shrug and went off with Nicol.

"mission accomplished." she muttered to herself, making sure Nicol heard her.

* * *

Author's Note:

If you guys want to clarify something, ask me now by reviewing or message me because the next chapter is already the end. Like I said, I don't wanna go beyond 20 chapters so I'm stopping at the next, that was the limit and I don't think an epilogue is necessary so I'm not gonna make one. However, since I haven't written the last chapter yet, I'm still not sure, so we'll just see.

By the way, if you are still unsure of who ended up with Athrun at the end of the final plus phase then visit my profile, I added a clarification there and it's authentic! There you will see links to AMCs which will prove that Athrun ended up with Cagalli and it has Fukuda's signature along with Sunrise's approval. The Clarification part is right under the AsuCaga facts.

Please Review! It's the only way I know how many people have read this. Help me make it better. I'm open to comments, questions, suggestions, anything as long as you review it.

No flames, please respect that this is my Fic. Thank you!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


	20. Sweet Serendipity

At last! Chapter 20! Thanks for the reviews!

So sorry for the late update! wrapping everything up took longer than I expected...

Jodeist: How could you be a bother? you're reviewing this! and thank you so much for that, I appreciate it a lot!

Mathiasosx: I clearly understand your point but I honestly don't have anything more to write, I'm all out! thanks for that though!

CagsZala: I'm sorry to disappoint you but I don't have a wedding, I didn't even think of making one because there are already a lot of epilogues centering weddings and I'm not making an epilogue either, this is already it... Thanks a lot though!

littlemsstrawberry and Light-Sakura: Thank you so much for being consistent! you two never, not even once, failed in reviewing this, I love you two!

By the way, this is my first fic ever, so thank you so much for reading it! I love all of you!

Read on with open minds, people.

* * *

**"Secrets And Lies"**

**Chapter 20: Sweet Serendipity**

After the exposure Athrun and Cagalli went through because of Kira and Flay, they decided to walk around to find a private place to talk. Cagalli remembered that they used to have a special place for just the two of them back at the Plants, so she took Athrun to a place that was similar to it.

The vast space was enclosed by high fences with wires, so much unlike the low railings in the rooftop in the Zala estate but it was certainly wider and higher. The breeze was different, it carried the salty essence of the ocean which was in clear view at the top, it felt so nostalgic since it's been a while since Cagalli has taken a whiff of it. And the sky, it covered everything else that your eyes can see, it was as if the world was welcoming you with a warm hug by hovering but she didn't mind, she liked it.

She took his hand and walked towards the fence, she then smiled to herself before looking at him.

"look up." then she did.

he didn't really get it but he decided to follow her gaze and he saw it, the biggest difference Earth had with the Plants. It was the sky. It was vast and peaceful, it had a couple of clouds which were real and a sun that lits it up with such warmth that he felt on his skin. It was breath-taking.

"whenever I look up at the sky, I feel so little and insignificant... but somehow at peace." she took a deep breath then asked. "do you believe in God?"

"I'm a coordinator... we don't have things like religion back on the Plants, everything is about facts and science, all things tangible not just some theory or belief." he answered, staring at her staring at the sky.

"hmmm..."

"by the way, is it really a habit of yours to jump off from balconies?" he teased.

Cagalli suddenly blushed and pouted. "I was in such a hurry, you know!"

Athrun chuckled. "let me guess, you were in such a hurry to see me." he smirked.

"you wish!" she blushed even more.

"I knew it." he laughed.

"hey, aren't you mad?" she asked, her blush finally subsiding.

"nope, we're going through the same thing." he stated a fact.

"but I still lied." she continued.

"I told you I'd love you no matter what, right?" he reminded her of their previous talks.

"your taking it a lot easier than what I was expecting... somehow, I'm a little disappointed..." she said.

"would you have preferred it if I got mad then?" he asked.

"no, of course not... but still, it somehow bothers me..." she trailed off.

Athrun didn't reply, he just stared. Then, the conversation was followed by comfortable silence, they didn't need words, they were both happy about being together and right now, nothing else really matters. But then again, they can't stay there forever.

"Athrun..." she called.

"yeah."

"I love you."

he was a bit startled but managed to smile as she looked away to hide her blush.

"I love you too" he tugged on her hand, she looked and they kissed.

A small act which was smothered with sincerity and the purity of feelings, it was their proof.

"Cagalli, please promise me that you won't runaway anymore." Athrun said after they parted.

she blinked. "eh?"

* * *

When Flay and Nicol got inside, Flay was greeted by Shiho and then she went with her to another room to talk about things. This time around, the guys, decided to eavesdrop. Kira tried to stop them but they didn't listen. Shinn, Nicol, Dearka and Yzak then went to follow the two.

After the four guys closed the door, Kira turned to Mir.

"Mir, could you please keep an eye out for those guys?" he asked her.

Mir stood up from her seat. "just so they wouldn't do anything stupid, right?"

"thanks." Kira chuckled as she took her leave.

"so... I guess the connivances didn't stop there, huh?" Rey spoke.

"connivances? that is such a strong accusation... coming from someone as guilty as me." he smirked and the two of them laughed. "I prefer to call it... uhmm, reassurance?" Kira continued.

"reassurance? yeah, right." then, they laughed some more.

_"so, that means the whole time he's been watching over them..."_ Lacus thought as she looked at Kira's laughing face.

* * *

Inside the other room, Shiho handed back the gun to Flay.

"thank you so much for everything Shiho, you are so kind." Flay took the gun and placed it inside her purse.

"oh, please don't mention it. I was very happy to have been of some help." Shiho said as they exchanged smiles.

On the other side of the room, the guys were sticking their ears on the wall as they leaned.

"I can't hear anything." Shinn complained.

"dude, shut up. we're trying to listen here." Dearka replied.

Suddenly the four guys heard a familiar voice.

"Flay, there you are. we've been looking for you everywhere." it was Romina.

"it's your mother, Nicol." Dearka whispered.

"where's princess Cagalli? I thought you ran out to get her earlier." said Lenore.

"she's with Athrun." Flay simply replied as Shiho bowed her head to greet the two ladies.

"I see." Lenore responded.

"we came here to speak with you about— " Romina was cut off by Flay.

"I'm not changing my mind." she said flatly.

"but— " Romina tried again.

"no buts, I kept my part so you do the same." she crossed her arms.

Lenore sighed. "are you sure?" she asked.

"damn sure." she started walking towards the door. "by the way, which one of you came up with that idea?" she asked, looking back.

"I did." Romina stated.

"why?" Flay asked.

"I was just hoping that you'd change your mind, after everything that has happened." Romina answered.

Flay didn't respond, she turned and continued to walk out.

"just so you know, Flay. If you ever change your mind, we can set up the engagements again." Lenore shouted.

"and it was your uncle who picked my son, so blame him." Romina added.

"whatever." was her reply as she closed the door.

"I wonder why Le Creuset chose you." Dearka muttered.

"who knows." Shinn shrugged.

"probably, because Nicol is the best choice. A kind-hearted musician is obviously far better than a damned kid, a perverted bastard and hot-headed jerk." Mir said with both of her hands on her hips as the four guys looked back.

"I'm not a kid!" Shinn whined.

"I'm not a pervert!" Dearka defended.

"I'm not a—never mind! let's get out of here!" Yzak stormed out.

"so, I guess he admits he's a hothead, huh?" Nicol commented.

"who cares? let's go, the party's starting." Mir followed Yzak out as the other four guys went along.

* * *

The signing of the Treaty was broadcasted live that day, it was shown to everyone in Orb, the Plants and the rest of the world. Chief Representative Uzumi Nara Athha of Orb was shown shaking hands with Head Chairman Patrick Zala of the Plants as the credits rolled. The people surrounding them included Siegel Clyne, Eileen Canaver, Ezalia Joule, Tad Elsman, Yuri Amalfi and the rest of the council members, along with the Emirs of the Union.

With that, everyone rejoiced and the party was initialized with a toast. Everyone raised their glasses as Uzumi gave his well wishes to the treaty and everyone. Then, he and Patrick lightly tapped each others glasses and drank their wines, everyone else followed.

It was now time for the announcement of the engagements, Cagalli was hiding behind a curtain on top of the stairs, she was supposed to be escorted down by her fiancé who isn't even here yet. On the other side of the stairs, she saw Kira with Lacus behind him.

"what the hell? don't tell me that those two are..." she whispered to herself.

Then, it was Patrick's turn to speak, he was the one assigned to announce the names.

_"no, wait! I'm not ready yet!"_ she panicked and stepped backwards only to bump into someone. _"my fiancé?"_ she thought as she looked back. To her surprise, it was Athrun.

"what the hell are you doing here? go back to your side." she whispered loudly, pointing to where Kira was standing.

he chuckled. "this is my side." he said calmly.

"no, they told me this was my side." she insisted.

"...with Princess Cagalli Yula Athha!" Patrick made it clear for everyone except for Cagalli who wasn't listening at all due to her argument with Athrun.

A loud applause was now heard throughout the hall.

Cagalli looked back. _"I need to go down now! but I didn't even hear his name!"_ she thought then she was suddenly pulled by Athrun into walking down the stairs, he had a firm grip of her hand so she just went with him even if she didn't understand anything at all.

"what the hell do you think you're doing?" she whispered as they stood in front of everyone who was cheering for them.

"what else does it look like? ...I'm honoring my engagement with my fiancée." he smiled and her eyes grew wide.

"what...? you're..." she was speechless as tears started forming in the corners of her eyes.

"well, it wasn't really that hard to figure out. Clues and hints were dropped everywhere, you just didn't pay enough attention." said Kira as he was now standing by her other side and Lacus was on his other side.

"you knew?" she looked at Kira.

"everyone actually knew a little something... we just chose to keep it to ourselves." Kira exchanged smiles with Athrun.

"yeah, I gotta agree... though, I think I owe Flay now." Athrun said then, the four of them scanned the hall to look for a redhead.

"actually, it was your mother who planned the whole thing... Flay just went along with it because of a deal." Kira stated.

Cagalli was the one who saw Flay first, she was sitting near the balcony with Mir and Stella, the other guys were at the other table.

Flay winked at her and Cagalli replied by mouthing words. "damn you." to which Flay responded by laughing, Mir and Stella laughed as well.

After a little while, Cagalli found out that Lacus was Kira's fiancée and the four of them was seated altogether in a table. Then, they were greeted by their friends.

"always knew you two would end up together!" Dearka slapped Athrun on the back, Yzak and Shinn were standing behind Dearka, plainly smirking at Athrun.

"congratulations, you guys." Nicol said with a bright smile, Rey was beside him, who congratulated Kira.

"thanks." Athrun and Kira said in unison.

"Congratulations!" Mir greeted Lacus and Cagalli with a friendly hug.

"my best wishes to the four of you! " Shiho added while Stella just smiled wide.

"thank you so much." Lacus replied.

"so, how was it?" Flay walked over to Cagalli.

"not funny, Flay." Cagalli glared.

Flay just laughed, she didn't notice that Nicol was staring blankly at her.

"maybe you should just talk to her." Rey suggested from behind.

Nicol just nodded.

Nicol went up to her and asked her to come with him, then they went to the balcony.

"uhmm, I think I need to tell you something..." Nicol broke their silence.

"no need, I know you're Nicol." she said straight and quick then she walked ahead of him and leaned on the veranda.

he was a bit surprised but was able to pull back his composure thinking that he should've expected that. "sorry." he muttered.

"for what?" she heard him.

"for lying, I guess." he looked down.

"don't be." she looked back at him as he looked at her. "I'm not your fiancée anymore. I ended it already—" he cut her off.

"before it even started." he chuckled. "you really don't like me, huh?" he couldn't help asking as he went beside her.

"actually, I do." she replied honestly.

he was surprised, it showed on how wide his eyes were and she was just staring emotionless at the sky.

she then looked at him and said. "you're kind, Nicol... too kind and that's why, you don't deserve to get stuck with me." for the first time, he saw her genuine smile, which could also be the last since the engagement was already off.

then she turned to her back and went off, leaving Nicol just dumbfounded.

* * *

The next morning, they all decided to go to the beach and have some fun before the guys go back to the Plants the next day. Athrun, Nicol, Rey, Shinn, Dearka, Yzak and Shiho still had to go back of course. Cagalli decided to go along and Lacus decided to stay for a while longer, their parents all approved of it so everything was okay. After a settling a few things, Athrun and Cagalli would come back for the preparations of Kira and Lacus' wedding which is still a couple months away, their own wedding will be in about a year after that. It turns out that it was already planned for Kira and Lacus to be staying on Orb while Athrun and Cagalli would live in the Plants, they can visit one another anytime of course.

When they got to the beach, Stella and Shinn quickly ran to the sea and played. Mir and Shiho followed as Dearka, Yzak and Rey walked around as well. Athrun and Cagalli sat near the sea and toyed with some crabs crawling by. Lacus sat on the blanket where all of the food for their picnic was resting. Kira stood near the roadside as Flay came.

"to think that... we were all just looking for completely different things and found something else entirely..." Kira said then, he looked back at Flay. "Cagalli was looking for a way out, I was just searching for her and you were..." he trailed off.

"looking for something to do with my life, I guess." she finished for him.

Kira chuckled. "are you sure you don't want to keep what you found?" he looked back at the direction of the sea, he saw that Athrun had carried Cagalli in his back and is currently carrying her far into the water.

"Cagalli would surely never let go of what she has now and so would I." he glanced at Lacus.

Flay giggled. "hmmm... let's see... I thought I already threw it away as soon as I saw it—hell, I didn't even touch it." then the two of them laughed.

"you know, it wouldn't be bad at all, if you become truthful with yourself." he suggested as he started walking away, he sensed Nicol was walking towards the two of them.

"I am!" she yelled to his back, he just chuckled.

"I got your bag, I just wish the parking area was nearer... so, what were the two of you talking about?" Nicol asked as he handed her the bag.

"nothing, let's go." she went ahead and Nicol followed.

Flay dropped her bag near Kira, hitting him. Lacus noticed and looked up at her, Lacus was seating on Kira's other side. Before Flay could take her seat next to Kira, Cagalli shouted at them.

"hey, you guys, come on! we didn't come here just to sit around!" she was completely soaked already, her pants and shirt were wet as well.

"yeah were there!" Kira waved back as he stood up and took Lacus' hand.

"aren't you two coming with us?" Lacus asked, Flay had just taken her seat.

"no, thank you. I'm not a child." she flipped her hair.

"what's the matter, afraid you'll get wet?" Lacus retorted as Kira, Nicol and Flay stared at her in surprise.

Flay smirked. "when did you become so brave?" her eyebrow twitching.

Lacus giggled. "just lately, someone was a great example."

"oh, really?" Flay narrowed her eyes at Lacus who was now laughing.

"if you don't wanna get wet then just stay here and watch over our stuff." Kira joked as he pulled Lacus to go to the sea.

"what?" Flay suddenly got pissed, Nicol stared at her for a while then, he took her hand and pulled her to the sea.

"what? what the hell are you doing?" but instead of answering he just laughed.

when they got near, Mir and Stella pulled on Flay and they all went into the water.

"wait! at least, let me take my shoes off, they're expensive!" she yelled.

"quit whining already!" Cagalli splashed water all over her face.

They just lazed around that entire day, everything was great and the worries that they had before that entire two weeks time, had completely been replaced by such pure bliss and they were all very happy about it.

Athrun and Cagalli decided to watch the sunset away from the others, just so they could have a moment of their own.

"Serendipity means looking for something and finding something far better which you couldn't ever expect, for it would be way too difficult to find it. Like, digging for worms and finding gold. " Athrun stated.

"but you weren't even looking for anything... at all!" she stated as he chuckled.

"yes, indeed I was overly blessed." he said.

she sighed. "who would've thought things would turn out like this?" Cagalli continued as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"yeah, everything was just unbelievable." he said with a soft chuckle.

Cagalli giggled. "I'm so happy to be with you, Athrun. do you think we would've still fallen in love if I never ran away from our engagement, in the first place?" she asked.

"who knows? but I'm sure glad I met you back there and not by a forced union." he answered honestly.

"hey, what do you think will happen to Flay and Nicol?" she asked looking up at him.

"well... I don't know, Flay's complicated." then he felt Cagalli sit up. "what is it?" he asked.

"since we owe her, why don't we do her a little favor?" she had a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"like what?" he asked, fearing for his friend, Nicol.

Cagalli just giggled. "It's payback time."

* * *

Shuttle Port, 6:24 a.m.

It was now the day of the flight, Cagalli and Athrun, along with the others bid their goodbyes, for now at least. Kira, Lacus, Mir and Stella were there, waving goodbye as their friends boarded the shuttle. Flay wasn't there, she was busy sleeping since she got a little drunk the night before.

"goodbye guys! take care! Athrun take care of Cagalli or else I'll kill you!" Kira yelled, Lacus beside him.

Athrun replied by waving his hand while chuckling.

"and don't do anything stupid!" Mir winked at Cagalli.

"geez! we won't do that!" Cagalli yelled back, blushing.

Suddenly, Dearka shouted from behind Athrun. "Mir, my love! you will surely miss me!"

and they all had a good laugh.

"I wonder how Flay would react?" Lacus whispered to Kira and they smiled at each other.

* * *

Flay's room, 6:47 a.m.

Flay was awoken by a phone call and it annoyed her.

"what the hell?" she was still lying on her bed, her eyes closed.

"good morning, Flay. it's me, Nicol." said the other line.

"Nicol? do you know what time it is? you'll miss your flight." she replied, glancing at the clock, noting that it's still too early.

"well... about that..." he paused.

"get on with it! I wanna go back to sleep!" she yelled.

he took a deep breath in preparation. "I'm here in front of your mansion! my mom said I can't go back home without you!" he yelled back, blushing furiously.

Flay instantly jerked up.

"what?"

* * *

An open ending! hahaha! Well, that's the end of it and a new beginning too, but let's just leave it at that. Oh, come on. It's not like much can happen afterwards... I just wanted to leave Nicol and Flay a possibility for a happy ending since AsuCaga and KiraLacus got theirs... So, how was it? hope you guys enjoyed that, I sure did. Thank you so much to all those who read, reviewed and supported me in this! I love you all!

Funny, this story began and ended with a big "what?"...XD

Also, if you still haven't let your presence felt after all this time, review me now! I think this fic deserves it, somehow...

No flames, please respect that this is my Fic. Thanks again! See you guys later!

(.^_^.)

Lynx


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